Randall Robinson doesn’t remember much about what happened that day, only what others have told him.
The 73-year-old Whitehouse resident and retired CPA stays active most days by handling maintenance duties at his rental property and at Whitehouse Methodist Church. One Wednesday morning, Robinson was driving his white pickup truck down Grande Boulevard in Tyler to meet a roofer at his property.
According to one eyewitness driving behind Robinson, the pickup truck started to weave in and out of both lanes. Suddenly, Robinson swerved sharply and ran up on the curb.
The man stopped immediately, ran up to the truck, saw Robinson was unconscious, and pulled him out of the truck to begin CPR. He asked another driver to call 911 for an ambulance. The EMTs arrived quickly, started him on the CPR machine, and loaded him into the ambulance. They also called ahead to prepare the Emergency Department at UT Health Tyler.
Cardiac Intensive Care
Along the way, Robinson’s heart was in V-tach, a fast, abnormal rhythm. The EMTs had to shock his heart several times to keep it beating.
When Robinson’s wife Susan arrived at the hospital, she found her husband in the cardiovascular intensive care unit. He was connected to Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support. ECMO is a temporary, life-saving machine that acts as an artificial heart and lung, pumping and oxygenating blood outside the body to allow diseased organs to rest and heal.
While on ECMO, Randall received a stent to clear a blocked artery. About five days later, he started an inpatient rehabilitation program. “It was amazing how fast Randall regained his strength,” said Susan.
However, a couple of days later, during rehab, Robinson suffered a second heart attack, which prompted a return trip to the ED and a second stent, further down in the same artery as the first.
Through it all, the Robinsons had kind words for the staff at UT Health Tyler.
“You know, the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit and staff were excellent,” said Susan Robinson. “They were very good about explaining things and answering my questions. They were great. I couldn’t have asked for a better team for Randall.”
Cardiac rehabilitation
Slowly and surely, Robinson is recovering from both heart attacks. He finished the second inpatient rehabilitation program and is starting a 12-week outpatient rehab program. At other times, you can find him walking his dog Moses over the gentle hills of East Texas.
“During my visit with Mr. Robinson and his family, they expressed overwhelming gratitude for our staff, stating they plan to transition all their primary and specialized healthcare needs to UT Health East Texas,” said Mario A. Padilla, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC, ECMO Program Director.
“Randall and his team of caregivers, including the UT Health EMS team for their expert on-scene advanced cardiovascular life support and rapid critical care transport, and the ED staff for identifying Randall as an ECMO candidate, will all be highlighted at the First Annual ECMO Survivors’ Reunion on May 4 in Tyler,” said Padilla.
For more information about our emergency care, intensive care or cardiac rehabilitation services, visit our website.