Lawrence Frait was working at his desk in his Willowbrook office when a sharp spasm hit between his shoulder blades. Accustomed to strenuous workouts at the gym, the 59-year-old Downers Grove resident figured he overdid it the previous night and got up for a water bottle.
The moment he sat down again, stabbing pain overwhelmed him. He groggily told a fellow worker he was sick. Time blurred from there, but Frait remembers fellow workers gathering around him, paramedics saying, “We’re out of here in 45 seconds!” and the icy chill of February wind as he entered the ambulance.
Frait awakened 24 hours later in the Adventist Hinsdale Hospital intensive care unit. He learned that the previous day, Dr. Frank Lutrin, medical director of cardiothoracic surgery, repaired an acute type A aortic dissection and ascending aortic aneurysm on Frait, a life-threatening condition Lutrin sees only about four to six times a year.
“For critical patients like Mr. Frait, we have to move very quickly,” Lutrin said. “You don’t have the luxury of waiting.”
Because Frait was born with a bicuspid valve, he had a slightly increased risk for developing an aortic aneurysm. Lutrin replaced Frait’s ascending aorta and half of his aortic arch. He then replaced the aortic valve with a mechanical one. It is this type of life-saving procedure that inspired Lutrin to become a surgeon. Often, patients with acute aortic dissections don’t make it to the operating room.
“Mr. Frait can go back to living his normal life,” Lutrin said. “His prognosis is very good.”
Frait spent six days in the hospital and returned to work April 5. Three times a week, Frait undergoes cardiopulmonary rehabilitation at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital
Because of Frait’s experiences, his friends now take their cardiac symptoms seriously. Frait praises the quick and expert actions of everyone who worked on him Adventist Hinsdale Hospital.
“It’s really incredible how quickly they found out what was happening,” Frait said. “I’m lucky to be alive.”