Lynn man has attitude of gratitude for Union Hospital

LYNN – A Lynn man who had never previously visited Union Hospital is now crediting staff members at the facility for saving his life.?These doctors are miracle workers, more than that, they gave me the best care,” said George Hughes, 69, of Lynn. “I believe the city of Lynn should know how these people saved me.”Hughes was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat, three years ago. According to the American Heart Association, atrial fibrillation is a heart condition that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications.He said that although he considers himself to be in good health and walks about five miles per day, physicians at both Harvard Vanguard Medical Center and Tufts University Hospital told him that he was not a candidate for an aortic valve repair, the surgical procedure that would correct his condition.?One doctor told me I would never survive this, and I thought I had a death sentence that I had to live out by nature,” he said.Hughes sought out a third opinion at North Shore Cardiology in Lynn where he met Dr. Lawrence Block. He also found a new primary care physician, Dr. Peter Barker of Family Doctors in Swampscott.Hughes, a retired property manager, said that Block did consider him a candidate for an aortic valve replacement, and the two doctors began monitoring his health closely in the months leading up to the operation. Block also started Hughes on the prescription medication Xarelto, a blood-thinner that would reduce his risk of stroke.?I was scared of this pill because I don?t take medication,” he said.Hughes began taking the prescription in March, and he said he felt fine until a few weeks ago, when he began feeling weak and experiencing shortness of breath.?As the days went by, I got weaker and weaker, so I went in to see Dr. Block. He did an echocardiogram on me, and he told me he believed it was a blockage,” he said.Block scheduled Hughes for the aortic valve repair surgery.?I was scheduled to go to Union Hospital for pre-testing (July 16). On the morning I was supposed to leave, I could not stand up. I was using a walker because I couldn?t get out of bed,” he said.He said he called his social worker, and she sent a Salem State University student to his home to drive him to the hospital.There, the nurse who drew Hughes? blood noticed something was not quite right.?This nurse, she noticed something was definitely wrong,” he recalled. “She looked at me and said, ?Are you OK?? and she said I was whiter than white.”Hughes said he and his driver left the hospital and drove about 1,000 feet before his phone rang. It was his physician, Dr. Block, who advised him to return to Union Hospital immediately.?I was told that I was bleeding internally, and my blood count had gone from 41 to 18,” Hughes said. “I went back to the ER, and they started a blood transfusion on me right away. The doctor on duty stayed with me over an hour and talked to me to keep me awake. I had a nurse with me all the time, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. I had lost over 70 percent of my blood.”At the emergency room, Hughes was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal bleed, acute blood loss and anemia.Although physicians at Union Hospital do not perform gastrointestinal repair surgery, Hughes said that his condition was so severe that he could not be transferred to another hospital.It was then that doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston were brought in to perform an emergency operation to cauterize the tear.?I thought I was going to die. I asked a doctor, ?Will I make it?? and he said, ?George, we will do everything to save you,?” he said. “I knew I was on my way out. I was incoherent, I couldn?t think, I couldn?t move, my motivation was shut down.”The operation was successful, and Hughes spent the next three days in the hospital. He said the care he received from nurses and physicians went well beyond his expectations.?The care was unreal. The nurses stayed with me 24 hours aroun