"Mr. Crutchfield saved my life" said Ann (ISS client)! On this particular day in June 2008, Ann had not been feeling very well and experiencing some discomfort, but thought it was merely indigestion. But since Ann did not think that her symptoms ( nausea, heartburn from her throat to her stomach, stiff neck and pain in both jaws) did not resemble the ‘normal’ symptoms of a heart attack, she brushed the thought aside.

Ann began talking with Mr. Crutchfield, ISS site manager, about how she was feeling. Mr. Crutchfield shared his own experienced with a heart attack a little over 2 years ago. As the day progressed and Ann’s symptoms were not subsiding, Mr. Crutchfield continued to speak with her and began to insist that she go to the doctor. Ann told Crutchfield that her symptoms did not mirror the typical signs that she had heard of, but Mr. Crutchfield told her that her symptoms were very similar to the symptoms of his heart attack that he had experienced just 2 years before….and insisted that she go to the doctor right away. Mr. Crutchfield was so insistent she decided to go to the doctor instead of waiting for the "indigestion" to pass. Ann’s doctor ran an EKG and came in with the results. Ann’s doctor told her that when he has patients with EKGs like hers, they typically arrive at the hospital in an ambulance. The doctor gave her the choice of having her husband take her to the hospital right away or the ambulance. At the hospital, when the nurses and doctors began the heart cauterization process, Ann experienced had another episode. The decision was made then that bypass surgery was needed.

"Mr. Crutchfield saved my life" and was a huge source of mental comfort to be able to speak to someone that had recovered from a heart attack and bypass surgery.