Stories from the Hubbard ER

Grateful family: John Hanley, Zachary Urbanowski, and mom, Diane Hanley.

(Two special guests spoke of their experiences in the Hubbard Emergency Room at last week’s official launch of Harrington’s $8.8 million fundraising campaign.)

Eleven-year old Zachary Urbanowski lives with his mom Diane Hanley and stepdad John Hanley in Douglas. On February 4 they attended his cousin’s birthday party in Webster.  After going to the bathroom, Zach began to have severe head pain, started vomiting, and lost consciousness.

Mr. Hanley carried Zach’s limp body to the Emergency Room at Hubbard. There, he was attended by Dr. Christian Menard, who immediately ordered a CT scan of Zach’s head. It showed that he had bleeding on the brain.  Such a severe condition dictated that he be transported to a larger facility for emergency treatment. Dr. Menard and Nurse Leah Pidgeon stabilized Zach and prepared him for travel.

A Webster EMS ambulance was standing by at the facility, and Zach was rushed to UMass Medical, University Campus, in Worcester. “Please tell me that my son will live,” Mrs. Hanley pleaded as they left.

At UMass, doctors drilled two holes in Zach’s head; he had a 3mm brain aneurysm, and was diagnosed with “arteriovenous malfunction, a very serious condition in which blood flows directly from the arteries to the veins without the dampening effect of capillaries.

Zach was in the hospital for 16 days and continues to be treated at UMass.  The family had no prior indication that anything was wrong, said Mrs. Hanley.

The Hanleys credit Dr. Menard and Nurse Pidgeon with helping save Zach’s life. “He survived and is showing none of the usual side effects of this condition.”

If it hadn’t been for the Hubbard ER staff, we would have lost him, added Mrs. Hanley.

Zach is sitting out the rest of the school year, but isn’t skipping his classes. He’s working from home, and the school has set up a Skype account so Zach can participate, said Mrs. Hanley.

Asked about the event, Zach simply answered, “I don’t remember it.”

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Dudley resident Charles Wheeler (above) knows a thing or two about hospitals and emergency rooms. He is a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Hasbro hospital. He’s also a nurse practitioner, and he was an army medic for seven-and-a-half years.

Mr. Wheeler’s primary care physician is at UMass Medical, but two weeks ago he suffered a severe gastric condition that prompted him to go to the Emergency Room at Hubbard.

“I was met right off the bat; the receptionist was amazing,” he said. He described being in triage for just five minutes, then being treated by Dr. James Sullivan within 20 minutes.  “If I’d gone to UMass, I would have been there for hours.”

People don’t think of community hospitals having that kind of response, he said. “I came in and the staff was amazing,” he reiterated. It was the best ER experience one could have, as far as ER experiences go, he joked.

Mr. Wheeler was so impressed by Dr. Sullivan and the Hubbard ER staff that he has decided to change his primary care to the Harrington Health System.