Life and Death was a Matter of Minutes

Carolyn and Ken Anderson

When a person’s health can change at a moment’s notice, it’s critical to have an emergency room just a few minutes away. Ken and Carolyn Anderson didn’t need that kind of reminder, but life provided one anyway on October 18, 2019. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon and Ken, longtime president and CEO of Marshalltown’s Chamber of Commerce, was working in his yard. Inside, Carolyn was entertaining a guest. Suddenly, Ken stumbled into the house and told Carolyn he didn’t feel well at all. They got into their car and sped toward the ER at UnityPoint Health – Marshalltown. However, they couldn’t get there fast enough. Ken passed out around the 3rd Avenue viaduct. By the time Carolyn reached the ER, Ken was unresponsive, had no pulse and wasn’t breathing. Seconds later, emergency personnel started chest compressions. “I’m proud of our nurses for their sense of urgency,” recalled Dr. Blaine Westemeyer, ER physician at UnityPoint Health – Marshalltown. “Our team members started CPR immediately once Ken was removed from his vehicle. One of our nurses literally got on top of Ken on the transport cot in order to do chest compressions while he was being wheeled into the emergency room.” Meanwhile, Carolyn was walked to the family room and an employee offered to park her car. The team at UnityPoint Health – Marshalltown, which included Dr. Westemeyer and nurses Jamie Kadner, RN, and Megan Heise, RN, stabilized Ken. After family arrived, they speculated this was related to pain he’d experienced recently. They had been affectionately referring to it as “gallbladder pain.” Unfortunately, they were wrong. This was something much bigger. “Within a couple of minutes, we recognized that Ken’s heart was in a dangerous rhythm called ventricular fibrillation,” Dr. Westemeyer said. “He received an electrical cardioversion