An experienced nurse becomes a cardiac patient in an Instant

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“I firmly believe I wouldn’t be here if it were not for the unbelievable care that I got,” shares 59-year-old Jackie Ffrench of Fair Haven, NJ.

For 36 years, Jackie was the calm in every storm as a registered nurse. But nothing prepared her for the night she became the patient fighting for her own life.

It started on a weekend off with a pounding chest and a sleepless night. Trusting her gut, Jackie woke her husband and went to the Riverview Medical Center emergency department. That intuition saved her life. Tests revealed elevated heart enzymes, indicating severe heart damage, and her condition deteriorated rapidly.

Jackie was placed on a temporary heart pump and rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, coding multiple times in the ambulance.

At Jersey Shore, an intense battle for survival began. Jackie required five surgeries and was placed on ECMO—a machine that acts as an artificial heart and lung. Vascular surgeon Satishkiran Kedika, M.D., even placed a stent in her arm to manage severe bleeding. Ten long days later, Jackie finally woke up.

Her survival wasn't the work of just one doctor. “There was an army of people involved,” explains cardiologist Renato Apolito, M.D. “It was a collaborative effort across several specialties, and that’s what saved her life.”

After stabilizing, Jackie rebuilt her strength through intensive therapies at the Johnson Rehabilitation Institute at Ocean University Medical Center.

Life briefly returned to normal until February, when an achy chest and severe vomiting sent her back to the ER. Her heart function had plummeted again.

However, this second scare provided vital clues. Heart failure specialist Jesus Almendral, M.D., reviewed her imaging and diagnosed her with myocarditis—inflammation of the heart muscle. A targeted three-month medication plan was introduced to heal her heart, finally addressing the root of the problem.

Her story offers a critical lesson for our community: never ignore the warning signs.

“You absolutely need to listen to your body,” Jackie urges.

Dr. Apolito echoes this life-saving advice: “Come to the ER. You may think you’re overreacting, but it could easily save your life. If Jackie didn’t act, she absolutely would not be alive today.”

Read Jackie’s full story.

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