The New Brunswick Heart Centre gave Lorelei a second chance at life.
On November 4, 2019, Lorelei was driving home from work, feeling unwell but focused on one thing, getting home to her 13-year-old son. “It’s just the two of us,” she explained. “I knew I had to get home for him, even though I wasn’t feeling well.”
As her condition worsened, she asked him to call 911 and to get a neighbour, thankfully, a retired surgical nurse, because she couldn’t bear the thought of collapsing in front of her son. Paramedics rushed her to the nearest hospital, where tests confirmed she’d had a heart attack. “I had only just turned 50,” she said. “I walked every day. I was nearly vegetarian. I was in shock.”
The next morning, she was transferred to the New Brunswick Heart Centre in Saint John for a cardiac catheterization.
And that’s where everything changed.
“When I got to the Heart Centre, I felt calm. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I remember thinking, I’m in the best place. If anything goes wrong, I’m in the best place.”
Dr. Sohrab Lutchmedial was her cardiologist. “He had such a calm, reassuring voice,” Lorelei recalled. “He explained everything as it happened. And the music he had playing during my procedure? It was the same music I listen to. I said, ‘I feel like I’m in my car driving home.’”
She later learned she and Dr. Lutchmedial were born on the same day, in the same year. “He even took the time to talk to my son, and explained what happened in a way he could understand. My son thought it was really cool that the doctor wore a Star Wars T-shirt.”
It wasn’t just the procedure, placing a stent in her heart, that saved her life. It was the care, the empathy, the humanity. “They were so good to him. And later, when my son asked about Dr. Lutchmedial, I told him he had passed away. He said, ‘Mom, I’m so glad he was here to save your life.’”
She continues to live with gratitude. “I live such a full life now. I’m grateful for every single moment of every single day. I take it all in. Other people rush around me, but I just see things differently now.”
The New Brunswick Heart Centre didn’t just restore her health, they gave a mother back to her son, and a second chance at life.
“I make healthy choices now not just for me, but to honour the team who saved me. They gave me that gift, and I’ll never forget it.”
We would like to note that this story honours the legacy of Dr. Sohrab Lutchmedial, an exceptional cardiologist, father, and human being, who passed away two years after saving Lorelai’s life. Dr. Lutchmedial remains a pillar of clinical excellence and was a beloved member of our community in Saint John, and known across the country for his commitment to his vocation and his full life outside of his incredible work.
