Rochester Regional Health Patient Reunites with Care Team Who Saved Her Life

ROCHESTER, NY - Rochester Regional Health (RRH) team members reunited Thursday with a young Hilton mother whose heart they brought back to life only minutes after she first arrived at the hospital. Sydney Pelusio, 32 at the time, went to a local urgent care on March 8 with viral symptoms - headache, nausea, and fatigue. Urgent care staff recommended she seek further treatment. By the time she got to Unity Hospital in Greece, she was so weak that she collapsed.

While physicians at Unity were examining Sydney’s heart, she went into cardiac arrest. The team urgently performed CPR, brought her back to life and implanted an Impella device to keep her heart beating. Sydney was a regular jogger and had no history of cardiac problems. 

Providers suspected she had myocarditis and started treatment.

RRH Interventional Cardiologist Cameron Hall, MD, determined Sydney needed a higher level of care and rode in an ambulance with her to Rochester General Hospital. Once she arrived, she was connected to an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine - a life support treatment that pumps and oxygenates blood.

“If Sydney had been at home when this unfolded, the reality is she likely would not have survived. It was impressive how RRH team members across so many disciplines and hospitals came together seamlessly to help save her life,” said Dr. Hall. “I feel privileged that I had an opportunity to be a part of her care, to be there in that moment in time with the skill set that I've been trained to have and help her.”

RRH Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist Amanda Coniglio, MD, worried Sydney’s heart was so damaged that she would need a transplant. She got in touch with the cardiac team across town at the University of Rochester Medical Center where they placed her on the list for a new heart.

While waiting for that new heart, Sydney started to improve. She was awake, neurologically intact and doing so much better that her care team eventually took her off the transplant list. Sydney would later have a defibrillator implanted and undergo cardiac rehabilitation. She was discharged three weeks later.

“We did an MRI of Sydney’s heart a couple of months after all this and she has no scar in her heart, which is remarkable,” said Dr. Coniglio. “She's a wonderful human being and is going to do incredible things with her life going forward. She’s become a great patient advocate after everything she's been through.” “Sydney’s story is an example of the miracles achieved when health care pulls together as a team: doctors, nurses, sonographers, paramedics, administrative professionals—everyone has a role in making these miracles happen,” said Jennifer Eslinger, President of Health Care Operations and Chief Operating Office at Rochester Regional Health. “We don’t celebrate these moments nearly enough but today, we are celebrating a life saved and family kept intact due to the great work of health care professionals across this community.”

Sydney refers to March 8 as Doom’s Day. She remembers bits and pieces of what happened, and her family has filled in the rest of the details. They are all thankful for those who helped make sure they will all be together to celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday. 

"You all make miracles happen every day, and I am just one living proof of that."

Watch Sydney's story: https://vimeo.com/1031315067/bc9b5c8d23

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About Rochester Regional Health

Rochester Regional Health is an integrated health services organization serving the people of Western New York, the Finger Lakes, St. Lawrence County, and beyond. The system includes nine hospitals; primary and specialty practices, rehabilitation centers, ambulatory campuses and urgent care facilities; innovative senior services, facilities and independent housing; a wide range of behavioral health services; and Rochester Regional Health Laboratories and ACM Global Laboratories, a global leader in patient and clinical trials. Rochester Regional Health is the region's second-largest employer. Learn more at www.Rochesterregional.org.