She Thought It Was Nothing. Going to the Emergency Department Made All the Difference.

At 48, Breanna Flanagan considered herself in the best physical shape of her life. The Riverton mail carrier was busy with the things that mattered most to her: her wife, four daughters and 1-year-old grandson.

Her youngest daughter is just 9, with soccer and competitive basketball keeping the family on the go.

So when she woke up one morning not feeling quite right, a heart attack was the last thing on her mind.

Her left arm felt strange and heavy, with pain near her shoulder blade. Later, she felt a squeezing sensation on the left side of her chest. Still, she was adamant it was nothing. She waited about three and a half hours before seeking help.

When an ambulance crew found her blood pressure unusually high, she finally agreed to go to the Emergency Department at Springfield Memorial Hospital (SMH).

Even there, she worried she had made too much of her symptoms. She didn’t want to waste anyone’s time.

But the ED team immediately reassured her. “They told me, ‘We want you here. We want to find out what’s going on. Don’t feel stupid. We’ve got you,” she said. “And they did.”

Tests soon showed that Breanna’s “silly concern” was actually a heart attack. Suddenly, the family waiting for her at home was all she could think about.

“I’m 48, there’s no way this is happening,” she recalled. “I have a 9-year-old. I have a 1-year-old grandson.”

One member of the cardiology team told her she was proud of her for seeking care, noting that things could have turned out differently if she hadn’t. The words carried extra weight for a mom and grandmother who had spent hours convincing herself nothing serious was wrong.

By then, her entire family had gathered in the waiting room. Scared and crying as she was wheeled to the Cath Lab, Breanna found comfort in the people caring for her with such focus.

“I felt like they were my family, too,” she said. “It was clear I was their priority.”

That care extended to the people she loved. Craig Albrecht, RN, with the Cath Lab, went out to speak with her family and even called Breanna by her nickname, “Babe.” Her family felt so comfortable with him they thought he must have known them for years.

Later, Breanna’s 9-year-old daughter stayed by her side in the hospital room, unwilling to leave her mom. Staff helped make a frightening night a little easier for her, making balloon animals out of gloves. Her daughter even surveyed the hospital room and declared it a five-star “hotel” room.

For Breanna, those small moments of kindness became part of something much bigger. She described Tara Tobias, RN, in the ED as “phenomenal.”  The support continued after discharge, when the hospitalist called her twice to help answer questions about her medications.

Today, she is taking time to recover and returning to what matters most: following her youngest daughter to soccer and basketball and spending time with her family. She’s also learning to slow down and give herself permission to rest.

Her experience has changed the way she thinks about listening to her body.

“You would never think this could happen to you, but it can.”