Twice, MD couple saves a man with CPR, then husband performs necessary cardiac surgery

Twice in the last 18 months, Dr. Corey Adams and Dr. Jennifer Adams of Calgary have leaped out of their car to perform CPR on men collapsed on a trail. In both cases, Dr. Corey Adams performed cardiac surgery on the patients days later. “It has been amazing to be part of both of these incidents,” Dr. Corey Adams said in a November 8, 2021, press release from Libin Cardiovascular Institute. “As a surgeon, it’s nice to celebrate the positives.” Dr. Corey Adams is a clinical associate professor in the department of cardiac sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary and a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute. In August, Dr. Adams, his wife Dr. Jennifer Adams, a gynecologist, and their two children saw a runner collapse on a path while driving to a recreation centre. They pulled over and assessed the runner, Eric McVeigh, 34. He had no pulse and wasn’t breathing, so Dr. Corey Adams began performing CPR. A passerby checked a local grocery store for a defibrillator but couldn’t locate one, so the Drs. Adams continued CPR until paramedics arrived. McVeigh was rushed to Foothills Medical Centre, where he later had open-heart surgery to replace his aortic valve and rebuild his aorta. His surgeon? Dr. Corey Adams. Read: Code Blue “Words can’t really do justice to how grateful I am to Dr. Adams and his wife. I have a second chance at life,” McVeigh said. McVeigh was diagnosed with aortic stenosis as a baby but had stopped going to his annual checkups with a cardiologist. He felt he had outgrown his symptoms. He runs three to five times a week, plays hockey and works out regularly. Partway through his run on August 8, his chest felt heavy and he felt short of breath. He paused, and passed out. He woke up in the emergency room. “When I woke up, I thought I was dreaming,” said McVeigh in the press release. “I have no memory of collapsing, or the trip in the ambulance.” The Adams family had teamed up to save another man’s life just a year before, when they were leaving the trailhead of Grassi Lake Trail near Canmore, Alta. Someone yelled: “A man is unconscious and turning blue!” and so the Drs. Adams jumped out of their car to help, a Libin Cardiovascular Institute press release from July 8, 2020, reported. Darrell Parker, 60, had suffered a heart attack on the trail, and the Drs. Adams and other passersby performed CPR until paramedics arrived. “Collectively, several of us began a coordinated resuscitation. As a cardiac surgeon I work daily with teams who are experts at reviving patients; however, it was truly special to work in the field with paramedics, firemen, and my wife to respond to this emergency,” Dr. Adams said in the press release. “I really feel the collective teamwork of this group saved Darrell’s life. It’s an example of knowing the importance of CPR, and remaining calm,” he said. Parker was initially taken to Canmore General Hospital but was transferred to Foothills Medical Centre to receive quintuple-bypass surgery to correct blockages. The surgeon? Dr. Corey Adams. The Libin Cardiovascular Institute reported that Parker continues to do well. Read: 'Divine event:' Surgeon who helped man after hike operates on him days later Parker had travelled from Saskatchewan to do the hike with his son and daughter-in-law. “I work in the oilfield, I’m very active and have always considered myself very healthy. I had no idea what poor condition my heart was in,” Parker said in the July 8, 2020 press release. At the time, Dr. Adams said helping Parker was a highlight of his career. “As health-care members, we often take some of the things we do as just part of the job. But after talking with Darrell and his family, it stresses the important role that we can make in people's lives,” Dr. Adams said in the 2020 press release. A year later, he and his family were able to help McVeigh. It’s no surprise that Dr. Corey Adams is an advocate for the public to learn CPR. “CPR can be done anywhere and at any time, and it saves lives,” he said. “Giving someone more Christmases and more time with their family is rewarding. Dr. Adams joined the Libin Cardiovascular Institute in April 2020 after relocating to Calgary from Newfoundland. Dr. Jennifer Adams is in private practice and specializes in minimally invasive surgical techniques and cosmetic gynecology. Read: Is there a doctor in the forest? Doc performs his first cricothyrotomy after bike accident

Twice, MD couple saves a man with CPR, then husband performs necessary cardiac surgery

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