Charlotte, North Carolina (queen city news) — Novant Health volunteers began talking not only about the work they did at Charlotte's Cancer, Heart and Vascular Institute, but also how they became patients there more than 20 years later.
Wynn Pearson was admitted to Belk Heart and Vascular Institute last August after her heart valves began to fail and her lungs filled with blood.
“I just couldn't breathe,” Pearson told Queen City News. “[Doctors said I] die or [I] I was going to live. There was no choice. ”
Twenty-two years before that fateful August visit, Pearson spent nearly every week in the halls of Novant Health's midtown cancer center and wing of its cardiovascular center.
“My dad inspired me to do it. I'm also a cancer survivor.”
Queen City News spoke with people who volunteered to work alongside Pearson, who described her as “truly a gem” and “one of a kind.” . . We need volunteers like her now more than ever. ”
Pearson stayed close to his patients, listened to their stories, and comforted them as they endured their worst days.
She did so without knowing that she would need the same support in 2023.
Pearson explained that she started having shortness of breath in late August.
She went to a hospital in Huntersville, but was soon transferred to Novant Health's facility in Charlotte, where she volunteered for many years.
When she arrived, Dr. Daniel Pugh, the attending physician on her case, said, “I didn't think she would survive the night.”
He said, “We discovered that her valves were not working, so blood and fluids were flowing back into her lungs. She was essentially drowning.”
Amazingly, she survived that night.
“She probably won't last very long. The only thing to do with a Hail Mary is to replace this heart value right away, which has never been done before,” Dr. Poo explained. .
Not only did he and his team take a “Hail Mary” and perform a surgery that required weeks of planning within two days, they also performed Pearson in an upright position. This had never been done before.
The procedure was successful, and within hours of completion, Pearson began seeing noticeable improvement.
Before she knew it, she found herself interacting with the nurses and other volunteers she met during her time at the hospital.
Dr. Poo said, “I don't know if you believe in karma or not, but I believe the stars aligned for her to be here and get what she deserved that weekend.” .
Pearson said she wants to continue her mission of spreading hope and comfort to people in her position.
“I felt completely at peace with what was going to happen to me, and I think a lot of people could use that encouragement.”