{"id":9643,"date":"2023-08-14T17:24:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T00:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?page_id=9643"},"modified":"2025-02-18T12:54:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T20:54:41","slug":"purpose","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/about-samaritan\/together\/purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Purpose Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Building Purpose Together<\/h1>\n\t\t\t
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\u201cI don\u2019t know why I am alive today, but I do know that life is precious, and I don\u2019t want to miss any opportunity to find the good in it.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Donni Pitzl<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Newport Resident Rebuilds Her Life After Pulmonary Embolism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As an executive with a humanitarian organization, Donni Pitzl of Newport traveled frequently across the globe, mostly throughout Africa, honoring world leaders who embodied the Golden Rule. This is a rule of ethical conduct that embraces treating others with the same respect and dignity one wants in return.

\u201cI met so many amazing people, and learned so much about other cultures,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a wonderful experience.\u201d

With the persistent travel, however, came loads of stress. Pitzl, age 69, knew she didn\u2019t handle that stress well, but she thought she would get better at it eventually.

\u201cEventually\u201d came abruptly on the evening of July 3, 2018. At home with her husband, Pitzl had what she thought was an anxiety attack. As her heart raced and her breathing grew labored, she knew something was wrong. Her husband called 9-1-1 for help.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Upon arrival, paramedics needed to restart her heart \u2014 an act they would repeat three more times during the short, two-mile trip to the hospital.

At Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital<\/a>, Emergency Department staff picked up where the paramedics had left off, fighting to save Pitzl\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen they turned me over to hospital staff, the ambulance crew thought I was dead,\u201d said Pitzl. \u201cBut the hospital staff went to work on me and brought me back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A CT scan revealed a pulmonary embolism, or a blood clot in Pitzl\u2019s lung, likely caused by a deep vein thrombosis in her leg. Because her situation required specialized cardiovascular care, Pitzl was stabilized and then transferred by Life Flight to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center<\/a> in Corvallis, where she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. A week later she was back home.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI think it\u2019s important to know that our words create good and bad. I want to encourage good things in the community whenever I have the opportunity.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Donni Pitzl<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to me that the medical community can give you an opportunity to live if you can and want to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had the very best of care in both places. I can\u2019t say enough for the staff,\u201d said Pitzl. \u201cMy husband, too. Of course, he was under a lot of stress and worry, and they cared for him as well. It\u2019s a credit to the staff both in Newport and Corvallis for how good a job they did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Pitzl\u2019s journey did not end there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four weeks later, feeling recovered, Pitzl shampooed her carpet, prompting her heart to race again. \u201cEvidently, I had exerted myself too much, and I had to do it all over again: back to the Emergency Department in Newport and then over to Corvallis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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This time her stay was less intensive. After overnight monitoring, Pitzl\u2019s clinician discharged her home, prescribing\u00a0cardiopulmonary rehabilitation<\/a>\u00a0at the Newport hospital. Through a specially tailored program of exercising on gym equipment while wearing a heart monitor and being closely observed by clinical staff, Pitzl learned to know her body\u2019s limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe staff there helped me know how much I could do,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pitzl now exercises three times a week and is working to rebuild her body and stamina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m in better shape than I\u2019ve been in years,\u201d she said. \u201cNothing is holding me back now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having stepped down from her career, she can now resume hobbies she rarely had time for, such as enjoying a book club with friends, or drawing sketches of her grandchildren. Mostly, Donni is rebuilding her life\u2019s purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy husband and I have discussed what happened to me multiple times, trying to understand it,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know why I am alive today, but I do know that life is precious, and I don\u2019t want to miss any opportunity to find the good in it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019m in better shape than I\u2019ve been in years, nothing is holding me back now.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Donni Pitzl<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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With this philosophy of positivity, she is committed to continuing the mission behind her career, to encourage and lift up others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile my work came to an abrupt halt, I still have that desire in me,\u201d she said. \u201cAny time I can encourage people to do better and to be better, I do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pitzl said she has immense gratitude for the medical community who didn\u2019t give up on her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey worked so hard to keep me alive, how can I express my gratefulness for that? When I hear negative talk in the community about medical care here, I tell them they are wrong. I wouldn\u2019t be here today without this medical community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important to know that our words create good and bad, and I want to encourage good things in the community whenever I have the opportunity,\u201d said Pitzl. \u201cI feel so appreciative, and if my story can encourage anyone else, I want it to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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What Causes a Pulmonary Embolism  to Happen?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The main risk factor of having a pulmonary embolism (PE) is having a blood clot. These clots are usually the result of another disease condition. PE can occur in situations with prolonged inactivity such as after surgery, during travel or while on pregnancy bed rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Blood Clots Can Be Dangerous<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When a blood clot in the body dislodges travelling through the vascular system, it can block a blood vessel and cause problems. When it lands in the lung, the result is a pulmonary embolism which is a life threatening situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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