“I am a walking miracle, thanks to Corona Regional Medical Center!”

September 11, 2018
When Kathy Walker woke up on the morning of Friday, April 27, 2018, her left leg was swollen and she felt short of breath.

When Kathy Walker woke up on the morning of Friday, April 27, 2018, her left leg was swollen and she felt short of breath. She called out to her husband and then passed out. Walker’s husband called 9-1-1 and she was taken to Corona Regional Medical Center.

After running several tests, Walker passed out again. Doctors initially thought she suffered a heart attack, but her condition was much more serious than that. Intensivist and Pulmonologist Kaveh Rezvan, DO, explains that they ran tests and discovered evidence of strain on the right side of her heart, which does not indicate a heart attack, but rather a possible blood clot, which was confirmed by a CT scan.

“Mrs. Walker also had low blood pressure and was passing out because she was not getting enough blood to the brain. She had a pretty serious pulmonary embolism and was in cardiogenic shock,” says Dr. Rezvan. “We had to stabilize her before we could determine the best way to treat the clots.”

Dr. Rezvan realized how critical Walker’s situation was and placed her in the ICU and administered medication to reduce the clots. Walker says every doctor she interacted with was very reassuring and they shared information with her about her condition. “They included me as a part of my care and I felt like everything was going to be okay with what they recommended,” she says.

“Dr. Rezvan kept reassuring me that they were going to take care of me and that made me feel good,” she says. “The nurse I had in the ICU was also comforting. She stayed with me the entire time.”

Once the treatment was completed, her condition improved enough to attempt to remove the clots. She was transferred to another facility, where the new CT scans showed the clots were gone. Walker was ecstatic. “What the doctors did at Corona Regional not only dissolved the clots, but they saved my life. I simply can’t say enough about the excellent care I received.”

Walker had her follow-up tests two weeks later and said, “God had his hand on me and He used the great doctors and nurses at Corona Regional to save my life,” says Walker. “I had such an amazing experience, and I tell everyone about it.”

She spoke about her experience at the hospital at a city council meeting. “I had been keeping my eye on Corona Regional because I knew they were making a lot of big changes. They brought in new doctors and their new ER is beautiful. I got to experience that,” she says. “I have lived here for 50 years, and this community is continually growing – we now have 155,000 people here and 80,000 in the surrounding communities. It is very important that this area has a hospital like Corona Regional,” she says. “The care they provided to me made all the difference. I am now healed and I feel great!”

Learn more about emergency care at Corona Regional >