First post:
Apr 13, 2018 Latest post:
Apr 16, 2018
Dear friends,
As some of you may have heard our dearest friend Betty Westphal Neal suffered from a cardiac arrest on Monday, April 9th around 8:00 pm at her home in Eagle. Her roommate was with her and left the room for just one minute to come back to find Betty on the floor not breathing. She called 911 and administered CPR until the paramedics arrived. Betty was transported to Vail Valley Medical Center and was then flown immediately to Denver Health, a level 1 trauma center.
There Betty was assessed and put into an induced coma to undergo Therapeutic Hpyothermia, which deliberately reduces the core body temperature and has been proven to successfully counteract some of the damage from cardiac arrest.
Over the last several days Betty's body temperature was slowly brought back to normal, they have removed the breathing tube, she has been taken off the ventilator, and has been talking. Yes, Betty is back, with her wit and humor, smiling at her family and friends, and keeping the medical staff on their toes -- especially the speech therapists!
They found that her heart is clear of any blockages, but they are doing further tests to determine the cause of the cardiac arrest.
Betty's son Jay has been by her side since this happened, while older brother Harrison arrived on April 11 along with Betty's brother Jay and his wife Lydia. Betty is surrounded by caring professionals and a loving group of family and friends. She's surprising the doctors and staff with her ability to bounce back -- she even took a 10 minute walk this morning!
Betty suffered several broken ribs during CPR (which is quite normal) so she's especially taxed, but is focused on resting and healing. Betty has been moved out of ICU and is still at Denver Health while her family determines next steps in her ongoing care.
We would like to acknowledge Betty's roommate Tina for being there, and for all her efforts that helped get Betty to help quickly. Tina is is literally a life saver. Our hearts are grateful.
Please keep Betty and her family in your thoughts and prayers. While there will be a long road to recovery, the doctors are impressed with Betty's response and hopeful for her future
We will have more information as we understand next steps. Thank you all for your love of Betty.
