NEW LENOX, Ill. (WGN) An Illinois doctor saved a young woman’s life while on vacation at Disney World with his family.
Dr. Jeffrey Schiappa, a family medicine physician with Premier Suburban Medical Group in Orland Park, said he and his family were at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park when he noticed a group of young girls sitting on a park bench crying, according to a news release.
“Then I saw a young woman on the ground, not moving. I checked her pulse, and it was irregular. We found an AED; Disney has them everywhere,” he said. “I had never used one before, but the device walks you through it. I shocked her once, her body jumped, but nothing happened. The device told me to shock her again, and this time she started moving, but didn’t wake up.”
As paramedics arrived, Schiappa’s son Joe learned the girls were on a band trip from Pennsylvania. The trip leader got in touch with the girl’s parents, who claimed she was not on any prescription medication or had any other conditions they were aware of.
“I later heard that she coded twice more in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, and then again at the hospital,” Schiappa said.
That girl, age 17, was later diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome, a heart rhythm disorder that causes fast, chaotic heartbeats, according to medical professionals. LQTS affects the electrical signals that travel through the heart and cause it to beat.
Those irregular heartbeats can be life-threatening.
Schiappa said he found out the doctors at the hospital implanted a pacemaker inside the girl.
“I understand she’s now doing very well. I heard from the parents and they were very grateful…they sent me a nice note,” Schiappa said. “If this had happened when she was away at college after graduation, she could have died. The same could have happened if I hadn’t noticed the crowd around her. I’m so thankful.”
Schiappa and his family enjoyed the rest of their Disney vacation, but he said the incident remains with him.
“What we did was successful, thank God,” Schiappa said.
