Jim Robinson calls himself a “common person.”

Pam Robinson describes her husband as “just the sweetest guy."

Blessing nurse practitioner Diane Nutter says he is “a very strong man.”

Some might call Jim lucky.

“I was scared to death,” the 51-year-old LaGrange, Missouri, resident said. “I didn’t know if I was going to live or die.”

Jim and Pam’s story starts with a Blessing Be Well at Work Employer Clinic appointment in late July 2021. Jim’s employer, Titan Wheel, participates in the Blessing Be Well at Work program, providing employees and covered dependents with access to primary care and other services.

“His legs were swollen,” Pam said. “We didn’t think anything of it.”

Diane Nutter, APRN-FNP, took care of Jim. While his heart and lungs sounded normal, his symptoms pointed in different treatment directions. To narrow the options, Diane ordered blood work including a test that indicates congestive heart disease.

“It came back elevated at 3,387. Normal is 5-to-125,” she said. “That concerned me. It’s indicative of heart failure.”

Diane referred Jim to Blessing Cardiology for further evaluation.

Jim saw Shanna Dierker, APRN-FNP, in Blessing’s Heart Failure Clinic shortly after his visit with Diane. US News & World Report named Blessing a High Performing Hospital in heart failure care. The condition occurs when the heart isn’t pumping well, a condition affecting more than six million Americans. Jim was one of them. He just didn’t know it officially yet.

“When Jim came to the Heart Failure Clinic, he was in active and advanced heart failure. One test showed his heart strength was around 15 percent,” Shanna stated. “Jim was also experiencing rapid Afib.”

Afib, short for atrial fibrillation, is an abnormal heart rhythm. Jim’s heart was beating at around 180 beats per minute. Normal is 70-to-90. He was also short of breath, could walk no more than 100 feet and was retaining fluid.

Jim was admitted immediately to Blessing Hospital where his condition was stabilized under the care of John Hammock, MD, interventional cardiologist and electrophysiologist. Dr. Hammock and Shanna work together in the Heart Failure Clinic. Jim also received a stent from Dr. Steve Krause during his hospitalization to relieve a blocked artery discovered during his evaluation.

Over the next three weeks, as an outpatient under the care of Dr. Hammock and Shanna, Jim had three electrical shocks to his heart to return it to normal rhythm, and a cardiac electrophysiology procedure called ablation. Ablation blocks abnormal electrical signals to restore permanently a normal heart rhythm.

“We have Jim on a medication plan and his heart function returned to normal,” Shanna reported.  “He is living a normal life and back to work.”

The quick deterioration of Jim’s condition was not surprising. His quick return to normal was surprising. It was a matter of getting the right care at the right time.

“If he did not present to the Heart Failure Clinic when he did, Jim would have been lucky to be here for Christmas,” Shanna said.

See? Lucky.

Jim’s doing a lot of work, too. He has made significant lifestyle changes to help his heart remain strong - a heart full of gratitude for all of his Blessing caregivers.

 “They spoke to me like a person. I understood everything,” he said. “They were up front and honest.”

Pam’s glad to have her husband of 11 years healthy and by her side.

“I hug him a little tighter, hold his hand a little more and tell him I love him every chance I get,” she said.

For more information on the care of the Blessing Heart & Vascular Center, click here.