Extraordinary Cardiac Care Yields a Miraculous Moment

Sixty-five-year-old Necomedes “Medy” Alisna is proof that even the best medical care can be boosted by a miracle. 

She got both at St. Luke's Health – The Woodlands Hospital.

In a rare situation that seemed hopeless, Medy persevered and made a complete recovery after nearly 15 surgeries, 14 procedures and 3 weeks in intensive care. 

Medy, a retired nurse, had traveled with her family from Canada to Houston in June to visit one of her daughters, who is also a nurse.  Medy had a longstanding history of heart disease. While in Houston, she began having chest pains and went to the emergency room at St. Luke's -The Woodlands, where she was admitted for a heart attack. An angiogram revealed significant coronary artery disease, including plaque causing narrowing of the arteries. Dr. Patel scheduled her for quadruple bypass surgery, a major surgery but one that everyone expected Medy to tolerate.  

“We thought she would have surgery and stay in the ICU for a couple of days, and stay in the hospital for a week, maximum,” daughter Julie Ann said.

The bypass operation went well; however, Medy developed a rare reaction to the heart-lung machine used in surgery. “All bypasses were working well but her heart muscle became very inflamed and swollen to the point it stopped working,” Dr. Patel said. “Some patients have mild reactions that typically get better with time, but she had a severe inflammatory response.” 

Her heart pumping function, or ejection fraction, had severely reduced and her heart rhythm completely stopped. Medy was completely dependent on the ICU heart-lung machine to keep her alive. After several days,  Dr. Patel agreed with the family that it was time to discontinue the extraordinary measures that were keeping her alive.  Then, on a Monday morning while Dr. Patel was in the ICU, he noticed that Medy’s heart looked better. The kidney dialysis that had been previously prescribed reduced the fluid and the swelling of her heart.

“The heart was significantly less swollen. So, I said, ‘Let's try again. I grabbed the defibrillator to shock her heart back. I tried it one time, and her heart started beating and remained in normal rhythm,” a surprised Dr. Patel recalled.  “There aren't many people walking around who didn't have a heartbeat for three days. That’s the first time I've ever seen that.  Her heart function completely recovered over the next week.” Amazingly, Medy was completely neurologically intact. She suffered no neurological or kidney injury.  

“The first thing I remembered was my prayers. I said, ‘Thank you, Lord, for waking me up again! I received a precious gift from God that kept me alive for my family,” Medy said, complimenting the entire team at St. Luke’s Health - The Woodlands Hospital. “They were all so great - Dr. Patel, the staff, the nurses, and even housekeeping.” 

“Mom is a living miracle,” daughter Julie Ann said. “She was in the right place at the right time. The medical team, including Dr. Patel, Dr. McBride, and the ICU nurses, never gave up on her.”

“It could have very easily gone the other way,” Dr. Patel said. “I think her recovery is a sign of an amazing, very efficient team. And it takes a lot of people to make it all work - the ICU, the cardiologists, and the nurses, who were especially invested given that Medy and her daughters were nurses.” 

Medy’s recovery serves as inspiration to the Cardiac team at St. Luke’s - The Woodlands,  which performs at the highest level every day, for every patient. “I think even for us, this was a bit of a miracle,” Dr. Patel said.