FoundationAnnualReport2022

Candy, who is of Mexican heritage and fluent in Spanish, realized the woman did not understand English and spoke to the woman in her native Spanish. “She instantly looked relieved. I told her my Spanish was a little rusty, but we would get through this together.” Dr. Sheldon determined the patient had a blockage in one of her cardiac arteries. He opened the blockage by inserting a stent into the artery through a catheter in her groin. Candy reassured her and acted as an interpreter while Dr. Sheldon performed the procedure. Candy accompanied the patient to ICU, where all heart cath patients are observed for at least one night. “We usually ask the family not to visit until the patient is settled in, but because of the language issue, I let the family in right away. The woman’s daughter spoke English, and she could translate for the nurses and her mom.” When the woman’s case manager readied her for discharge, Candy again served as translator. For Candy and the other cath lab team members, one of the most gratifying aspects of assisting Dr. Sheldon is watching how quickly the patients’ pain decreases. “Once the stent, or in some cases, stents, is inserted, the patients’ level of chest pain is reduced almost immediately. And that is so wonderful to see,” says Candy. 8