A Journey of the Heart electrician working in the back saw the shape Fred was in and immedi- ately called for help. "I think I'm having a heart attack," Fred muttered and the world went black. Later, Fred's wife Diane would tell him the rescue helicopter was met at the hospital by a team of doctors and nurses, and he was immediately whisked away for testing. She would explain how less than an hour after he experienced his first symptom, he was in the hospital’s state-of-the-art cardiac operating room being prepped for triple bypass surgery. Diane would say it was the scariest and most stressful day of their entire 43-year marriage. That evening Fred woke up in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, attached to an array of beeping monitors and machines. Panic washed over him as he searched the room for his wife. At that moment a nurse leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Fred, you're in intensive care at Saint Agnes and you're going to be ok. Everything is going to be ok." Her voice was instantly calming, and for the first time that day he be- lieved she may be right. from civilization. Then the pain struck like a hammer blow to the chest. At first he tried to shrug it off as a bad case of heartburn, and decided to hike back to the truck for an antacid. But when the medicine didn't provide any relief from the pain, the memory of his father's two heart attacks began to loop through his mind. Knowing emergency crews would never find his remote moun- tain location, he packed up his tools to go find help. Fifteen minutes later he found the local fire station. It looked aban- doned but the front gate was open; he prayed someone was around. An By the time the ambulance arrived at the remote highway intersection, the helicopter was waiting, ready to transport Fred to Saint Agnes Medical Center… His heart had stopped twice on the way down the mountain. Multiple shocks with a defibrillator had re-established a shaky heartbeat, but with every passing second his chanc- es of surviving were dwindling. 30 minutes earlier The morning of April 21, 2012, was crisp and clear and Fred Massetti was working in an isolated location north of Coarsegold, CA. It was the part of his job he liked best – the quiet of the open forest, miles away Saint Agnes Foundation donors, Diane and Fred Massetti Continued on page 5...
Transcript
A Journey of the Heart electrician working in the back saw
the shape Fred was in and immedi-
ately called for help.
"I think I'm having a heart
attack," Fred muttered and the
world went black.
Later, Fred's wife Diane would tell
him the rescue helicopter was met at
the hospital by a team of doctors
and nurses, and he was immediately
whisked away for testing. She would
explain how less than an hour after
he experienced his first symptom, he
was in the hospital’s state-of-the-art
cardiac operating room being
prepped for triple bypass surgery.
Diane would say it was the scariest
and most stressful day of their entire
43-year marriage.
That evening Fred woke up in the
Cardiac Intensive Care Unit,
attached to an array of beeping
monitors and machines. Panic
washed over him as he searched the
room for his wife.
At that moment a nurse leaned over
and whispered in his ear, "Fred,
you're in intensive care at Saint
Agnes and you're going to be ok.
Everything is going to be ok."
Her voice was instantly calming, and
for the first time that day he be-
lieved she may be right.
from civilization. Then the pain
struck like a hammer blow to the
chest.
At first he tried to shrug it off as a
bad case of heartburn, and decided
to hike back to the truck for an
antacid. But when the medicine
didn't provide any relief from the
pain, the memory of his father's two
heart attacks began to loop through
his mind. Knowing emergency crews
would never find his remote moun-
tain location, he packed up his tools
to go find help.
Fifteen minutes later he found the
local fire station. It looked aban-
doned but the front gate was open;
he prayed someone was around. An
By the time the ambulance
arrived at the remote highway
intersection, the helicopter was
waiting, ready to transport Fred
to Saint Agnes Medical Center…
His heart had stopped twice on the
way down the mountain. Multiple
shocks with a defibrillator had
re-established a shaky heartbeat, but
with every passing second his chanc-
es of surviving were dwindling.
30 minutes earlier
The morning of April 21, 2012, was
crisp and clear and Fred Massetti
was working in an isolated location
north of Coarsegold, CA. It was the
part of his job he liked best – the
quiet of the open forest, miles away
Saint Agnes Foundation donors, Diane and Fred Massetti
Continued on page 5...
Because of YOU!
Dear Saint Agnes Supporter,
Because of YOU we accomplished so much this year!
Your gifts to the Saint Agnes Foundation, whether big or small, combined to make so much possible for the hospital and for our community.
Just look at some of the things YOU achieved in 2016…
$130,000 for 1 new procedure table, 9 EKG machines and 8 temporary pacemakers for our Cardiac Cath Lab.
$82,000 from the Saint Agnes Service Guild for hospital refurbishments.
Over $55,000 to send nurses and other medical staff to
educational conferences and trainings.
$60,000 for Heart & Soul, a new women’s program promoting exercise, nutrition and heart health.
$35,000 for a new blood-draw lab system to improve wait times
in our Emergency Department.
And a BIG thank you from the Saint Agnes Men's and
Women's Clubs...
Every year Saint Agnes volunteer clubs host a variety of fundraising events. YOUR support of our events made it possible for the clubs to provide the hospital with a combined total of over $298,000. Here’s how some of YOUR funds were used:
Over $90,000 to Holy Cross Center for Women.
$72,000 to refurbish a surgical waiting room and patient rooms.
$17,000 for new Cardiac Rehab exercise equipment.
Over $18,000 to Spiritual Care for Bears & Blankets and other patient-focused programs.
$30,000 for new patient and visitor seating for the ICU, 2
patient dining carts, blanket warmers and other hospital needs.
Whether you donated $5 or $50,000 – your generosity made a difference for Saint Agnes and we can't thank
you enough!
With a grateful heart,
Teri L. Amerine, Vice President Saint Agnes Foundation
DID YOU KNOW? The Saint John’s Bible display in
the hospital’s main rotunda is now
complete. If you haven’t already,
stop by and take a look.
Saint Agnes colleagues recently
finished an employee campaign that
raised over $176,000 for important
hospital programs and services.
Because of the support of amazing
friends like YOU, we’ve been able
to add 7 new dogs to our Heavenly
Hounds Program. This means
there’s now a four-legged volunteer
at the hospital almost every day!
Congratulations to the entire Heavenly Hounds
Team for winning the 2016 Spirit of Philanthropy
Award from our local chapter of the Association of
