It’s often difficult for expectant mothers to plan every detail of their labor because childbirth isn’t always predictable.

For some mothers, the unexpected things that happen during pregnancy can be more frightening than they could have ever imagined. Heather Kestel-Porter experienced some difficulty during her third pregnancy, but her obstetrician attributed her experience to her age. Dr. Alberto Domingo had no concerns with Heather delivering her baby boy full-term. Heather was scheduled to have a cesarean section Aug. 8, 2014 – at the 39-week mark – but visited the hospital a few days prior due to chest pains. Heather was sent home after being monitored and undergoing tests. Later that week, her severe chest pain returned. “I knew it was a heart attack,” she recalled. “I knew the signs and symptoms.”

Heather’s husband, Kwan Porter, rushed her to Aultman. As soon as they arrived, doctors and nurses began working on Heather. “I was in the room with Heather and a couple of doctors and nurses. Then, a couple more doctors and a couple more nurses came in. More doctors and nurses kept coming in until I was outside of the room looking in,” Kwan said. “That’s when I knew it was really serious.” Kwan instructed the doctors to do what they had to do and, right away, they began performing a C-section followed by open-heart surgery.

Aultman team members quickly turned the heart cath lab into an operating room and prepared to deliver Heather and Kwan’s baby boy. Dr. Domingo delivered Evan in less than three minutes. The team celebrated Evan’s birth but quickly switched gears to perform Heather’s heart surgery. The Aultman team members performed the surgery seamlessly, despite the fact that they had never handled these surgeries simultaneously before.

After surgery, Aultman staff members continued to do anything they could to make Heather and her family comfortable. One staff member grabbed her own personal items for the two older Porter children when she noticed they were worried and needed a distraction. Other staff members worked quickly to move Heather from the ICU to her inpatient room so her husband and kids could visit. “I think they knew bringing Evan to me would be beneficial to my healing,” Heather shared. “I needed to see him and my other kids.”

Nurses brought Evan to see Heather so they had time to bond, even when Heather wasn’t able to hold him. They also provided a room for the family to visit Evan while Heather rested. “My experience at Aultman was pretty spectacular,” Heather said. “I couldn’t have asked for one thing to be done differently, except for it not to have happened. It was fantastic.”

Though recovery from two surgeries was difficult with a newborn and two older kids at home, Heather was determined to get well. She began getting out of bed and moving around because she knew her responsibilities as a mom needed to be fulfilled. “I believe it happened to me because I could live through it and tell other people about it,” she offered. “I didn’t do anything spectacular. I just lived – and that’s what you do as a mother.”

Heather is thankful to be alive today with her husband and three beautiful children. She is also thankful to Aultman for everything the entire team did through the entire process. “Aultman is part of my family and literally saved my life.”