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

A quickly planned 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; the grandkids were running from ride to ride. And I noticed a couple of young girls sitting on a park bench crying,” said Dr. 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; Disney has them everywhere,” he said. “I had never used one before, but the device walks you through it. I shocked her once, her body jumped, but nothing happened. 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 or had any other conditions they were aware of.

“I later heard that she coded twice more in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, and then again at the hospital.”

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

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

Dr. Schiappa is grateful he was in the right place at the right time.

“If this had happened when she was away at college after graduation, she could have died,” he added. “The same could have happened if I hadn’t noticed the crowd around her. I’m so thankful.”

During all the excitement, Dr. Schiappa’s family finally noticed he wasn’t with them.

“It was, ‘Where’s Dad? Where’s Poppa?’ It was the first day of the trip, and we had been there only about an hour.”

The family enjoyed Disney for the next week or so, but Dr. Schiappa said the incident remains with him.

“What we did was successful, thank God,” he added.

For more information or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Schiappa, visit www.premiersuburban.com