CONWAY, Ark. (KTHV) — There's a saying in the healthcare industry: time is muscle. This means that patients lose muscle function in their heart more and more as time passes during a heart attack.
When a patient was being flown to Conway Regional Hospital, the Cardiac Cath Lab supervisor there knew she didn't have time to spare even after getting a flat tire on her way in.
"You've got to do what you've got to do,” Paula Weatherley said.
If you know anything about people in the healthcare industry, you know most of them don't enjoy the spotlight. Weatherley is no different.
"I'm not much of a spotlight person. I prefer to be behind the scenes, a worker bee,” she said.
And they love to pass the credit.
"It's nothing anybody on the team wouldn't do,” the 11-year Cath Lab vet said, brushing off praises.
But her actions, when a patient needed her most, certainly deserve the attention.
"It was 3:30 in the morning. It was super cold. We got called in for a heart attack,” she said. "The patient was being air evac'd from Clinton, so we were called out before the patient got here. That's always good for the patient. You know, time is muscle. They called, so we are traveling at the same time as the patient. On the way, I hit a piece of metal in front of Ida Burns Elementary School. It blew my tire out."
Weatherley did the only thing she knew to do.
"Decided that I just had to jump out, put my purse and coat on, and run so I could beat the patient here," she said.
She ran all the way from Ida Burns Elementary school to Conway Regional. In total, more than half a mile. Beating the patient by about two minutes.
"I sat down, caught my breath, and about two minutes after that the patient rolled through the door from Air Evac and we got started,” she said.
"Having the whole team come from wherever they are is of key importance because this procedure is about teamwork, Dr. Deepali Tukaye said. "Even if one member on a on-call team is not available, doing this procedure as safely as we try to do it, becomes extremely difficult.”
Tukaye is the cardiologist that worked the case with Weatherley.
"They would do anything to get here on time to make sure that our patients get treatment in a timely fashion, so when Paula ran that day, I was not surprised at all," Tukaye said.
Weatherley argues she's not alone. Stories like these happen every day.
"These stories aren't always dramatic: having a blowout and having to run to work, but they're definitely stories to be told,” she said.
The patient made it. And Weatherley received an award at work for going above and beyond.