I am a 26-year-old woman who went into my local hospital with shoulder blade pain on Nov. 2, 2007 only because my boyfriend made me go. I had been in terrible pain all day to the point where I could not keep anything down.

When I was lying on the table in the Richland Center ER, I began to shake, and then had a heart attack. I coded right then and there. They shocked me back to life and called Med Flight in to get me to Meriter.

After an hour plus ride in the chopper, I finally made it to Meriter where I was worked on by Doctor Hinderacker who is, from what I have been told, one of the very best. He put in a stent after four days. I was sent home only to be sent back by ambulance less than 24 hours later with congestive heart failure. The wonderful doctors got me feeling better from that, and I got to go home a few days later then on Jan. 3, 2008.

I came back down to Meriter to let the doctor look around a bit more, and he then put two more stents in later in the month. I was sent back to Meriter because of having gallbladder problems and with my heart being the way it is and everything I have had done to me as of late. The doctors are going to try to hold off on surgery as long as they can to give me a better chance of pulling through even though so much has happened in such a short time.

I'm very glad that I have had the wonderful doctors and nurses at Meriter to take care of me so that I can get well ASAP so I can take care of my wonderful family.

I just want to say thank you to all my caretakers at Meriter Hospital and the ones I have had at home.

Bridget