Silver Cross Family Practice Doctor Helps Save Young Woman from Cardiac Event at Disney World

A spring vacation to Disney World provided life-saving magic to a young woman with a cardiac issue, thanks to quick work by a family practice doctor on staff at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox.

“We were at MGM Studios theme park. I noticed a couple of young girls sitting on a park bench crying,” saidDr. Jeffrey Schiappa, Family Medicine Physician with Premier Suburban Medical Group in Orland Park.

“Then I saw a young woman on the ground, not moving. I checked her pulse, and it was irregular. We found an AED,” he said. “I had never used one, but the device walks you through it. I shocked her once, her body jumped. The device told me to shock her again, and this time, she started moving, but didn’t wake up.”

As paramedics arrived, Dr. Schiappa’s son, Joe, learned she and the other girls were on a band trip from Pennsylvania. The trip leader got in touch with her parents, who said she wasn’t on any prescription drugs and didn’t have any other conditions they knew of.

The young woman, age 17, was diagnosed with Long QT syndrome (LQTS), a heart rhythm disorder that causes chaotic heartbeats that can be life-threatening. LQTS affects the electrical signals that travel through the heart and cause it to beat.

“Doctors implanted a pacemaker, and she’s doing very well. I heard from the parents, and they were very grateful,” Dr. Schiappa said. “They sent me a nice note.”

Dr. Schiappa is thankful he was in the right place at the right time.“If this had happened when she was away at college, she could have died,” he added. “The same could have happened if I hadn’t noticed the crowd around her.”

The family enjoyed Disney for the next week, but Dr. Schiappa said the incident remains with him.“What we did was successful, thank God,” he said.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Schiappa, please visit www.premiersuburban.com.

Silver Cross Hospital

1900 Silver Cross Blvd.

New Lenox, IL 60451

815-300-1100

www.silvercross.org