Bill M

At first, Bill Mahoney thought he had come down with a cold. As time went on, it became clear something was wrong — very wrong. He started having trouble breathing. Soon, he was unable to lie down without being in excruciating pain.

Finally, Bill couldn’t take it anymore. “It felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest with a shard of glass,” he says. So he came to our emergency department for help.

Here, Bill was diagnosed with severe pneumonia. His lungs were filled with fluid. Our medical professionals removed the fluid from Bill’s lungs, and his condition significantly improved. He was then kept here overnight for observation.

During the night, Bill’s health declined, fast. He was rushed to our intensive care unit (ICU). “If I wasn’t taken to the ICU when I was,” Bill says, “I don’t think I would’ve made it.”

Bill’s case was complex: He had developed life-threatening complications from his lung infection. His body had gone into septic shock. He was treated by a multi-disciplinary team that included a cardiothoracic surgeon and a pulmonologist — as well as Kimberly Shriner, MD, a renowned infectious disease specialist.

With treatment, Bill improved enough to be moved to our definitive observation unit, which is for patients whose conditions are serious but not immediately life-threatening. He notes that our team put him at ease, and recalls one nurse in particular who Bill says, “went well beyond the call of duty.” After more than a week in the hospital, he was well enough to go home.

Bill is back to his old self, exercising regularly and even rock climbing — and credits the team here with his recovery. “Not only did Huntington Hospital save my life,” Bill says, “but they also went out of their way to make me feel at home there. It was the best care I’ve ever had.”