Helping a grandson turns into an emergency – and a gift of gratitude

Grandparents Bill and Marilyn Motley, who live in Atlanta, Georgia, expected a busy but uneventful time helping their grandson move into a new apartment in West Lafayette. But then Bill had a heart attack.

Marilyn and 81-year-old Bill had returned to their hotel and gone to sleep when Bill woke Marilyn at about 2 a.m. An ambulance took Bill to IU Health Arnett’s emergency department, while Marilyn waited for her son to pick her up at the hotel. When she got to the hospital just a half-hour later, she was surprised to see Bill settled into a hospital room following an examination.

“If we had been at home in Atlanta, he would have been in the E.R. for an hour at least,” she said.

The staff’s efficiency impressed the couple, but so did clear and consistent communication. Throughout their time at Arnett, the Motleys received all the information they could want. The clinicians respected William’s medical knowledge as an orthodontist, but they also made sure Marilyn understood everything. “They never talked down to me,” she said. “The communication was very good.”

The Motleys were also touched by the kindness and courtesy they experienced. “Everyone was so nice, from doctors on down to the cafeteria people,” Marilyn said. “We never encountered a rude or unpleasant person.”

After Bill was discharged from Arnett, the Motleys were impressed all over again by the follow-up attention Bill received. They left Lafayette and were driving to their son’s Cincinnati home when they received their first call. “We got five phone calls over the next two weeks from the hospital checking on Bill,” Marilyn said. “I’ve never heard of a hospital calling after you’ve been dismissed.”

But even when the couple were back in Atlanta, the care continued. When Bill’s Atlanta physician had trouble finding space for Bill in a cardiac rehab clinic, the Arnett staff jumped into action to find a spot. “They called us back in 10 minutes,” Marilyn said. “They had located a place for Bill to go for rehab 10 minutes from our house and start immediately.”

In a letter to IU Health, Marilyn expressed her and Bill’s appreciation for the care he received. A few months later, she reports that Bill is doing well -- healthy enough, for example, to climb up and down the 97 steps at their lake house. They also expressed their gratitude with a donation to IU Health Foundation.

When asked what impressed her most about the experience, Marilyn said, simply, “Everything.”

To learn how your financial gift can recognize your IU Health caregivers, read more about IU Health Foundation’s giving options.