SANFORD, N.C. -- Medical emergencies are always scary, and that’s especially true when someone is alone and away from home. Anxiety and fear can set in quickly, and questions are endless – what is happening with my body? Can I safely drive myself to get medical care? Is there a hospital nearby?
All these questions and many more were running through Doug Peterson’s mind in October 2024 after he started experiencing chest pains following a day of work in Lee County. Doug was far from his home.
“I work for a company that installs security equipment, and on Monday, Oct. 28, I left my home in Dover, Delaware, to install a security camera at a job site in Sanford. I left at 4 a.m., drove straight to the site and finished up my work around 3:30 that afternoon. When I started packing up, I noticed a feeling that reminded me of bad indigestion," Peterson said.
On his way to the hotel he picked for the night, Doug stopped at a pharmacy to buy antacid medication, hoping to get some relief.
“By the time I got to the hotel, I was feeling nauseous. I checked in, and once in the room I only got worse. I threw up my lunch and the medication I took, and sweat was rolling off my forehead,” Peterson recalled. “I attempted to lie down, thinking I might be able to sleep it off, but a few minutes later, I called my wife, and she told me to get to a hospital because I might be having a heart attack.”
Doug’s wife, Melanie, who spent more than two decades working as a nurse, was right. Doug was in the midst of a heart attack, and his harrowing journey was just beginning. “I asked the hotel staff to call 911, and by the time the FirstHealth EMS crew got to the hotel I was in a bad way,” Peterson said.
At this point, Doug met Vince Duke, a FirstHealth paramedic who would be more important than he could have imagined. Peterson said he was immediately struck by Vince and the crew’s calm demeanor and how they quickly sprang into action.
“His expertise was evident, and after he took an EKG, he told me I was having a heart attack. When we discussed where I should go, Vince mentioned FirstHealth’s Reid Heart Center, which has a catheterization lab and heart specialists who could help me and deliver top-notch care. I told him I was at his mercy and to do what he thought was best. Within moments, we were rolling.”
During the 35-minute drive from Sanford to Pinehurst, Vince and his team continued to care for Doug both physically and emotionally. He was given pain medications and reassured that they would be at Reid Heart Center soon.
“I heard them call the hospital and tell them they were coming and that I would need to go straight to the Cath Lab,” Peterson said.
“Even though I was still in pain, I was extremely worried about my wife not knowing that I was possibly dying. You could only imagine her anxiety being back in Delaware with no additional information. The last time she had heard from me was when she told me to get to a hospital.”
Again, Vince was ready to help, calling Doug’s wife and explaining both what was going on and where the ambulance was headed.
“He calmed her down, and she felt that I was receiving the best care I could get,” Doug said. “The last parts of the ride are foggy to me, and there were times I felt like I was slipping away. I remember at least once Vince calling to me and saying, ‘Stay with me, Doug.’”
Duke said taking care of a patient during an emergency often includes care of their family, too.
“It happens on a lot of calls. We always try to think about the full patient picture, which involves the family,” Duke said. “Another bonus is that when we can engage a patient and get information to their family, it can take their mind off what is happening in the moment and put them in a position where they can provide care to someone themselves.”
Upon arrival at Moore Regional Hospital’s emergency department, Vince continued to advocate, making sure Peterson was taken to the Cath Lab as quickly as possible.
“I was medicated and possibly dreaming but I know Vince kept pushing to get me into Reid Heart Center, and he stayed with me in the room until I was taken back,” Peterson said.
From there, Reid Heart Center’s team of heart care specialists, including interventional cardiologist Sun Moon Kim, M.D., took over, discovering that a 100% blockage in Peterson’s right coronary artery had caused his heart attack.
“Doug had a 100% thrombotic occlusion (clot), and we were able to successfully open it with a single stent,” Kim said. “After Doug’s trip to Reid Heart Center from Sanford, we were able to open his artery about half an hour after he got here.”
When Doug woke up following the procedure and met Dr. Kim, another phone call to Melanie helped ease both of their minds again.
“Dr. Kim agreed when I asked to call Melanie as he was explaining everything, and he was so patient in explaining everything to her. He must have spent 15 minutes talking through everything, and I’d never seen that happen before,” Peterson said.
“That was an incredible few minutes, and it was really meaningful for Melanie to have Dr. Kim take the time to do that.”
Kim said it’s common for members of the heart team to help make sure family members know what is going on with a patient’s care from a distance.
“In this case I was able to speak with Doug’s wife, update her on his condition, the success of the procedure and what she could expect moving forward,” Kim said. “Although difficult at times, we do our best to communicate with family members when we have permission from patients.”
Peterson spent an additional 36 hours in Reid Heart Center before being discharged on Wednesday, and his care team helped him get 30 days’ worth of medicine he needed as he and Melanie worked to identify a follow-up appointment with a cardiologist in Delaware. Doug says his recovery continues to go well, and his experience has reminded him that “real-life heroes” still exist.
“What sort of care would you expect in such a scary moment? You would want qualified people who are on your side and advocating for you the entire way. That’s just what I got,” Peterson said. “I never saw Vince after I was rolled into the Cath Lab, but without him and his crew, I would not be here. I owe my life to him, and Melanie and I are so grateful for the care I received.”
Duke said EMS crews approach each call with the mindset of delivering the high-quality care.
“Our teams take their patient contact very personally. We advocate for our patient and do our best to provide the type of care we would want for our own family,” Duke said.
Heart Care at FirstHealth
At FirstHealth Reid Heart Center, and in our clinics throughout the region, each patient receives personalized care from the area’s most skilled cardiologists, surgeons, nurses, techs and support personnel. In our state-of-the-art Reid Heart Center on the campus of FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, patients have access to leading-edge technology, treatment options and services usually reserved for university-based centers in large cities.
