Marshalltown Man Thanks ER for Saving His Life

Phil (far left) and his wife, Kellie (far right), with their son, Austen, and his wife, Alicia.

Phil DeRuiter doesn’t remember much after being rushed into the emergency room at UnityPoint Health – Marshalltown. Really, it’s just a series of images and brief instances. A room full of providers and nurses. A lot of activity. Reassuring words. And pain – severe pain.

“At one point, I recall saying, ‘Just let me die,’ and I remember the nurse saying that wasn’t an option,” recalls Phil.

Phil, a 55-year-old Marshalltown resident who works at Sika Corporation, was suffering from a bleeding ulcer, and it was a severe, life-threatening situation. His condition arose quickly one weekend in March, when he started to feel ill on a Saturday. By Sunday, things were worse, and his wife, Kellie, returned home from shopping to find him in the bathroom, very weak, sweating profusely and nearly unconscious. “I was very scared at that point,” says Phil. “I thought I was leaving this Earth.” Somehow, Kellie got Phil into the car and to the ER at UnityPoint Health – Marshalltown. A team, including Dr. Blaine Westemeyer, RNs Jeff Gilchrist and Jamie Kadner, rushed out to get him into a wheelchair and took him inside. “He rolled into our department looking awfully sick and worrisome for shock due to massive blood loss,” recalled Dr. Westemeyer. “He was pale as a ghost, sweaty and clammy with thready pulses (indicating decreased pulse pressure). Our team quickly identified the life-threatening nature of the situation and orchestrated stabilizing this patient.” Phil had a central line catheter placed and was given blood products in the emergency department to help stabilize his blood flow. He was experiencing severe bleeding in his digestive tract and hypovolemic shock (a life-threatening condition when your body loses more than 20 percent of its blood). With his vital signs especially unstable, it took significant time for his care team to get him stabilized.