Interventional Heart Care Gives Respiratory Therapist a Second Chance

After a massive heart attack requiring cardiac rehabilitation and physical therapy, Kenny Cornelius still had sick leave time from his job. But on May 4, he went back to work because, as he put it, “I wanted to get my life back.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten his life back.

Kenny, a 56-year-old respiratory therapist, was at work at Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington when he began feeling ill. Rushed to the hospital’s emergency department, he went into cardiac arrest, requiring two rounds of CPR to revive him. “When I coded, I died,” he said.

The only thing he remembers prior to that is the respiratory therapist telling him, ‘‘’Kenny, we got this.’ She said ‘You’re going to be OK.’ And that’s the only thing I remember and I went right out.” 

Kenny’s wife, Heather, who had been called from her job at a Lexington pathology lab, witnessed much of it. “I was just in shock, devastated,” she said. “He was having excruciating chest pain on a pain level I’ve never seen him on before. He has a really high pain tolerance, but that let me know the severity of the pain he was having.”

Stabilized and intubated, he went to the cardiac catheterization lab, where doctors found a small blockage — out of proportion to the damage it caused — was found. Doctors removed it with a balloon angioplasty.

Kenny was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation when he was 21 and had surgery at age 4 to repair a heart defect. Doctors told him if his heart attack hadn’t occurred at the hospital, “I wouldn’t be here. I had immediate care. I couldn’t have been in a better place to have what happened to me.”

He also is thankful for his co-worker, respiratory therapist Charlotte Drues, who rushed him to the emergency department. “She is part of saving my life,” he said.

A Familiar Face Among Caregivers

With 16 years working at Saint Joseph Hospital, Kenny knew many of the caregivers who tended to him. He said he’s grateful they were also looking out for Heather. “They were over the top,” she said, “hugging me, consoling me and just reassuring me that things were going to be OK, that they were going to figure out what was going on and get him better. The staff there, they care about him so much — he’s one of them. All patients are important, but when it’s your own, it’s a little different.”

Kenny remained on a ventilator and sedated for a total of seven days, transferring to another hospital for further care midway through that time.

What followed were eight weeks of cardiac rehabilitation at Saint Joseph London, concurrent with physical therapy at Saint Joseph Berea. The couple lives in Mount. Vernon, driving to Lexington for their jobs. All his therapists, Kenny said, were “absolutely fantastic.”

Collaborative Care for Ongoing Recovery

Likewise, they praised his interventional cardiologist, Shengnan Zheng, MD.

“You don’t always expect a relatively small coronary lesion to cause such a catastrophic event, but in Kenny’s case the timing and physiology aligned in a very dangerous way,” says Dr. Shengnan Zheng. “His survival was possible because he received immediate recognition, rapid resuscitation and coordinated multidisciplinary care within minutes. Seeing him return to the hospital and back to the profession he loves has been incredibly meaningful for all of us involved in his care.”

 “She was wonderful,” Heather said. “When they transferred him to UK Hospital, she even gave me her personal cellphone number for me to update her on how he was doing there.” 

Kenny said on his first follow-up appointment, Dr. Zheng walked him through what had happened to him, reviewing the testing and cardiac catheterization results, knowing he had been unconscious throughout. 

“Not once did I feel rushed, did I feel like I needed to be leaving,” he said. “She was just happy to answer any question I had. When I left her office, I felt so much better about everything. I don’t know that if she wouldn’t have taken that time, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.”

His regular cardiologist and electrophysiologist, Yousef Darrat, MD, also kept in touch and checked on him. “He was amazing. Between him and Dr. Zheng, you couldn’t ask for a better team,” Kenny said.

Navigating the Emotional Impact

The experience, he said, “was a really difficult thing for me — I mean, I died. That is hard to mentally overcome.”

Heather believes patients who go through something like this should be prepared mentally. “It’s going to hit you. It might take a week or two, but you’re going to mentally decline after an event like this,” she said. “I feel like there should be more therapeutic measures taken with those patients before they are released from the hospital.”

On his first day back to work, Kenny said, “I am doing very well. I am probably 80%, maybe 90%, back to my daily activities,” thanks to support from his faith, his home and his doctors.

Stories like this remind us why every heartbeat matters. Discover the compassionate care available at Saint Joseph Hospital or find a doctor near you.