Walking into the Royal Jubilee emergency room last Easter, Robert Modrow thought little of his chest pain.

The active 69-year-old had been to his family doctor and tests showed nothing was wrong. Emergency room doctors were just going to take an angiogram picture of blood vessels in his chest.

But his heart stopped on the way to the operating room. He woke up a week later in a hospital bed with no idea what had happened.

B次元官网网址淚 had black and blue bruises on my chest where defibrillators had been used to restart my heart,B次元官网网址� Modrow recalled last week.

He had an incision in his chest for a pacemaker, and learned heB次元官网网址檇 had bypass surgery. His wife counted 16 tubes for fluids going in and out of him.

He was also connected to a vital signs monitor with electrodes measuring his heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure and other vitals.

These monitors used to be shared between patients as they became available, but in the new Patient Care Centre at RJH the goal is to have one in every patient room, thanks to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation fall fundraising campaign.

The campaign seeks to raise $595,000 to buy 94 vital-signs monitors for the care centre.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 amazing how far technology has come and how a few improvements can not only make an impact on patient care and outcomes but directly save lives,B次元官网网址� foundation chair Rod Dewar said.

Dr. Daniel Wong, director of heart health for Vancouver Island Health Authority, compared the monitors to having a member of the medical team in a patientB次元官网网址檚 room at all times.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e connected into the wireless communications systems that we carry, so if something changes with a patientB次元官网网址檚 vitals it immediately notifies us,B次元官网网址� Wong said. B次元官网网址淚f weB次元官网网址檙e adjusting medication or a pacemaker, we can see what effect its having instantly on the screen.B次元官网网址�

Modrow, who has completed his cardiac rehabilitation and is now in good health, said being attached to the monitor helped him relax during his time in the hospital.

B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e lying there youB次元官网网址檙e totally dependent on all these people and you donB次元官网网址檛 quite know what happened B次元官网网址� youB次元官网网址檙e overwhelmed,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t was enormously comforting knowing I could drift off to sleep and the monitor would be my voice connecting me to my caregivers, and it would let them know if anything went wrong.B次元官网网址�

To donate to foundationB次元官网网址檚 fall campaign, call 250-519-1750 or visit www.victoriahf.ca.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com