Tennis Injury Turns Nearly Tragic
When Sarah’s health took an unexpected turn for the worse, her emergency care team sprung into action and brought her back to life. Twice.
Sarah Pheasant is a Washington, D.C. attorney who enjoys playing tennis to help de-stress, that is, until a sudden sports injury left her limping off the court. The pain continued and even after an urgent care visit, use of an orthopaedic boot, and physical therapy, Sarah was still facing difficulties.
Early one morning, Sarah experienced rapid labored breathing and tightness in her chest. The last thing she remembers from that morning is immediately dialing 911 only then, to awake four days later in a MedStar Health intensive care unit.
What she doesn’t remember is arriving by ambulance, unable to speak due to respiratory distress. Her emergency department team had to revive her twice when her heart stopped beating. The rapid onset of such dangerous symptoms lead physicians to diagnose Sarah with a pulmonary embolism. With quick action, her care team safely removed the blood clot that had formed behind her knee - saving Sarah’s life.
It was thanks to the fast action and medical expertise that Ethan Booker, MD; Travis Thompson, MD, emergency medicine resident, Matthew Schreiber, MD and Emil Cohen, MD were able to quickly collaborate on bringing Sarah back to health.
"My family and I are so grateful to the hospital and the entire team," Sarah reflects. Her father also states, "My wife and I know that Sarah is alive because she had the right doctors with the right skill set, doing their job well. Every member of the team was so kind to us. They went out of their way to make us comfortable, and the care Sarah received was quite remarkable. The practices and the culture of caring were so impressive. We cannot say enough about how incredibly grateful we are for the care she received."
Sarah Pheasant is a Washington, D.C. attorney who enjoys playing tennis to help de-stress, that is, until a sudden sports injury left her limping off the court. The pain continued and even after an urgent care visit, use of an orthopaedic boot, and physical therapy, Sarah was still facing difficulties.
Early one morning, Sarah experienced rapid labored breathing and tightness in her chest. The last thing she remembers from that morning is immediately dialing 911 only then, to awake four days later in a MedStar Health intensive care unit.
What she doesn’t remember is arriving by ambulance, unable to speak due to respiratory distress. Her emergency department team had to revive her twice when her heart stopped beating. The rapid onset of such dangerous symptoms lead physicians to diagnose Sarah with a pulmonary embolism. With quick action, her care team safely removed the blood clot that had formed behind her knee - saving Sarah’s life.
It was thanks to the fast action and medical expertise that Ethan Booker, MD; Travis Thompson, MD, emergency medicine resident, Matthew Schreiber, MD and Emil Cohen, MD were able to quickly collaborate on bringing Sarah back to health.
"My family and I are so grateful to the hospital and the entire team," Sarah reflects. Her father also states, "My wife and I know that Sarah is alive because she had the right doctors with the right skill set, doing their job well. Every member of the team was so kind to us. They went out of their way to make us comfortable, and the care Sarah received was quite remarkable. The practices and the culture of caring were so impressive. We cannot say enough about how incredibly grateful we are for the care she received."