Catherine (She'll Never Go Home Again Part II)
Posted: Saturday, February 28, 2009
by John Schranz
It was Friday night and the store was closed ( Big Lots ), I had my recovery crew in doing their job of recovering the store to get it ready for the next day. My recovery crew consisted of Lois, Justin, and Catherine. Now Catherine was asthmatic and on occasion would have difficulty with her breathing and this night was no different. Approximately 9:50 pm I was walking the store to make sure that everything was done so we could leave on time at 10. I noticed Catherine walking towards the break room and having difficulty breathing. I asked Catherine if she was okay and she replied " no, I need my inhaler ", I told her to go to the break room and get and that I would be right there to check on her. Now keep in mind that this was something that we would go through on occasion. I went to the break room within a minute or 2 to check on her and when I got there I found Catherine sitting on the chair still having difficulty with her breathing. I immediately asked her if she was okay and she said " I don't Know ", I asked her if she had used her inhaler and she stated " Yes ", I asked if had helped and she said " no" Inside myself I knew at this point that there was a serious problem but how serious I didn't't know. I asked her if she needed me to call 911 and she said " I don't know ", well that meant yes to me and on the phone I went. Now keep in mind that I do have a medical background and with all my training there was really nothing at this point that I could do to help her except to call 911 as she was still breathing and actually talking to me.
The paramedics lowered Catherine to the floor and immediately started CPR. Now, I'm not sure how many of you have seen this performed before but it can appear violent even though they are trying to save a life. To hear the cracking of the chest and to watch them do the chest compressions then check the monitor and have no response, then resume compressions. They put a tube down her throat so they could do her breathing for her with a non-re-breather bag. The poor woman had so much fluid with blood in it coming out of her chest that I knew at this point she was probably already gone, God had taken her from us to be with him. The paramedics wouldn't't give up on her. They worked on her for 30-35 minutes in our store, giving her 3 epee shots to try and stimulate her heart and every time they did they would only get a slight response then back to compressions. Now, you need to keep in mind another factor in here. While I was trying to deal with all this going on I had my manager who just happened to be out at a bar having a couple calling me. You see, when this all started and the paramedics were there doing the job I called her to let her know that one of her employees was in cardiac arrest and the paramedics were working on her. I had a real hard time with her response of, "Well, stay as late as you need to". At first she didn't't believe me and then she came out with that response, she did to her credit ask me if I needed her to come down there but should she have even asked, this was one of her employees and I told her that it didn't't look good. She did call back 2 or 3 times to see what was going on but I really didn't't have time to talk to her, I needed to be there for Catherine and that is where I was.
After working on Catherine for 30-35 minutes the paramedics made the call to transport her to the hospital. They loaded her on the gurney and were performing CPR as they were taking her out. I was told later that they gave her 2 more shots of epee in the ambulance and another 3 at the hospital but to no avail, she didn't't make it . Her poor family was in shock, they were to celebrate her grand daughters birthday on Saturday but this one would be different, it would be without grandma. A lot of people would think that since I am in the medical field that this wouldn't't affect me but let me tell you, when it's a family member or a friend that you watch leave this world it definitely affects you, I don't care what anyone says. I know I only slept about an hour that night as I kept hearing the cracking of her chest when they were doing CPR and I kept envisioning the fluid coming out of her. Then I would think of her family and her grand daughter celebrating her birthday without grandma. It touches you in a way that I could never explain. God Bless you Catherine, you are with God now and in a much better place with no suffering.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)John, your story is sad, and heartfelt, and also the one I wrote about, the difference is, is that you were the covering manager at Big Lots when Catherine had passed away. I wrote of this based on what my wife, your sister had told me, but it is nice that you posted a true account of what actually happened that dreadful night. God bless you for trying to save her life, and her death really impacted me to make me realize our own true mortality. Good Job, Your brother and friend in pen.....Gary....you can reply to his by hitting the reply to comment at the bottom of this box, and I want to be the first to welcome you to search warp.....Good job buddy and glad to see you writing.......Gary, thank you for the comment and yes, that night was a real hard to deal with. She was a sweet lady and I can only hope that she is in a better place and will no longer feel any pain. Hope you guys had a great time tonight, you deserve it.
Hi John and welcome you did the best you could for Catherine. I was already familiar with Catherine through an artcle that Gary wrote. Your being there with her in last moments must have meant alot. I will pray for her family.Thank you for the more intimate story on Catherine.Keep WellKacyKacy, Thank you for the comment and yes, at least she wasn't alone. That is my biggest fear and I would never want anyone to be alone when it's their time. I just wanted to give her some commfort and can only hope that I achieved that. God Bless and thank you for the prayers.
Hi John, welcome to searchwarp. You did a great job sharing this difficult story. I am sure she was feeling blessed to have such great people around to comfort her and do the best they could to help her. Please stick around and share more of your writing with us. God be with Catherine's family. Blessings to you! TeresaHi Teresa and thank you for your comment. It was a hard story because for me to write it I had to relive it again. It's always hard seeing a co-worker and a friend leave us in a way that we are not prepared for. I will try to write some more on my own medical stories and believe me when I say that there is a lot. After 20 surgeries I think I can come up with a few. Anyway, God bless and thank you
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