I’ve just heard that PUC Commissioner Kristie Fiegen’s husband suffered a serious medical event this past weekend while out at the Buffalo Roundup, so please keep the Fiegen family in your prayers for his speedy recovery.
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There was an update sent out late this morning by Commissioner Fiegen, which noted in part:
Praises and prayers for Tim, who had a sudden cardiac arrest, and his heart stopped pumping & he stopped breathing on Saturday, Sept. 27th at 4 pm at my brother Keith’s cabin in the Black Hills west of Hermosa, SD, which is 25 miles from Rapid City.
Lord Jesus, joyful praises and prayer requests.
Jesus, we PRAISE you:
1) TIMING AND LOCATION: (4 PM MT) Tim felt ill while he was dressing for our 2nd campaign event of the day, so he laid down on the bed at Keith’s cabin.
Praise Jesus, I called 911 (AND the phone service worked) as I watched him lay down gently while he was still conscious, and he did not hit his head (no brain bleed).2) Praise God that I started CPR on the bed when he became unconscious while I was still on the phone with 911. 911 dispatcher instructed us to move him to the floor for correct positioning for CPR. Praise God, brother Keith was present and lifted him off the bed and safety got him to the floor so I could continue CPR. Praise God Keith took over CPR and properly did it with deeper compressions and faster to keep his heart working mechanically as we listened to 911’s instructions.
3) (4:04) Praise God the fire station were a half-mile away, and firemen showed up in 4 minutes and used a difubulator. Firemen took over CPR.
4) PRAISE God I was able to call our sons (at 4:11 pm) Alex (23 seconds) and Jackson (13 seconds). Praise God at 4:12 pm, I started sending out text message prayer requests to our families and prayer warriors. We had nearly 100 people praying immediately. (And praises for family and friends supporting us at the hospital when we arrived)
5) (4:20) Praise God for EMTs Matt & Lane from Keystone’s ambulance who arrived in 20 minutes. EMTs shocked Tim’s heart 5 times and got his heart working again, and got him breathing. Helicopter arrived (4:35). Praise God, they stabilized Tim for 90 minutes and placed a breathing trach in before the helicopter took him to Rapid City hospital (5:36).
6) Praise God for Dr. Syed, an interventional cardiologist, who took over his care. Praise God that Tim’s vitals were good. They kept him sadated as they waited for results from blood work, ultrasound, chest x-ray, EKG, and other tests. He was in good enough health, so the doctor was able to wait until Sunday morning for procedure since they wanted more time to get his blood thinner meds out of his system, so less chance of bleeding .
7) Praise God sons and daughters in ❤️s, Alex (McKenna) and Jackson (Mara) arrived safely on Saturday evening within 5 to 6 hours of being called and a 350+ mile drive.
8) Praise God for RNs Shane and Jake, who worked with Dr. Syed on Sunday (9:10 am to 10:30 MT), to do the cath lab procedure and take images of the heart to look for blockage. Praise God there was no new blockage. Tim’s previous 2017 stent in the right artery was blocked and had scare tissue. The heart found a new pathway for blood supply, so they left the stent in because they could not unblock it with the build-up and scare tissue.
9) Praise God they took the breathing trach out early at 3 pm Sunday, and he woke up immediately after sedatives wore off. He could speak immediately, and his brain activity appeared normal (after being without oxygen for 20 minutes when the cardiac arrest happened on Saturday). His humor is back!
Prayer REQUESTS:
1) Lift the pain from Tim’s chest, which was from the lifesaving CPR. Pray for rest.
2) Pray for the cardiologist team (I believe Dr. Levine is assigned, but we have not met him.) today as they evaluate all tests and review, putting in an implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). There are pros and cons, so pray for our decision. If we go forward, pray for successful results that are FREE from infections.
3) Pray for the neurology team coming in today, Monday, and that Tim’s brain health is normal.
4) Pray for Jackson as he is back teaching today in his 6th grade classroom, and Mara is back at USD PA school. Pray for Alex and McKenna as they work remotely at the hospital on their work computers. And pray God takes care of everything at my work and our campaign during my absence.
5) Thank you for PT, who just made him walk, and he is now sitting in a chair and resting (10 am, Monday). Praise God for all the IUC staff at Rapid City Monument Hospital.
6) Pray we see every small, medium, and large blessing God has given us.
In Jesus’s name, we praise and pray.
Amen
Again, please keep the Fiegen family in your thoughts during Tim’s recovery.
Tim is a super nice guy with a good beard. We’ll definitely keep him, Kristie, their family and their medical team in our prayers.