Gerry's Story

I lived to see the next day.

“I am so grateful and impressed that my local hospital – Penn Highlands Huntingdon – has such a dedicated and skilled team available when we need them,” said Gerry Wityk, a Huntingdon resident who required the expertise of the hospital’s Emergency Department and Cardiac Cath Lab during a Memorial Day weekend. “They sacrificed their holiday to save my life!”

Gerry was enjoying the long holiday weekend when on Sunday evening she called her son because she was feeling ill. She was taken by ambulance to Penn Highlands Huntingdon where the team in the Emergency Department diagnosed her symptoms as those of a heart attack. Fortunately the hospital has a state-of-the-art Cardiac Cath Lab where three stents were used to open Gerry’s coronary arteries.

On Monday, she celebrated Memorial Day in the hospital and was discharged Tuesday morning.

“They were absolutely wonderful to me during my stay in the hospital,” said Gerry. “They monitored me thoroughly and made sure that I was comfortable.” Following discharge, Gerry began cardiac rehabilitation two days per week in the Cardiopulmonary Department at the hospital.

“Everyone who is working with me in rehab is great. I learned that I need their guidance to be healthier,” she said.

Gerry also had another revelation related to her cardiac care.

“I developed a great deal of confidence in the skills and availability that we have right here in Huntingdon County to respond to a health crisis.”