On November 7th, 2004, a Sunday like any other, Gary Naylor was sitting in church when he felt an immense pain in his abdomen. Gary rushed to the Prince County Hospital to receive the diagnosis that would save his life. Having barely sat down in the waiting area, he was ushered into a room to be checked. Luckily for Gary, PCH was equipped with a portable ultrasound. Dr. Scott Cameron used this versatile piece of equipment to get a visual of what was happening in Mr. Naylor’s body.
Gary was in the midst of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (also known as AAA). A ballooning of the abdominal aorta exceeding the normal diameter by more than 50 percent, an AAA can cause pain in the abdomen and back (due to pressure on surrounding tissues). Mr. Naylor doesn’t recall a moment from then on when Dr. Cameron was not by his side, until the helicopter arrived to whisk him off to Halifax where a stint was placed in the aorta. It is this type of quick diagnosis made possible by the portable Ultrasound that saves lives weekly in the Emergency Room at Prince County Hospital. “It was all very well done. And I’m saying that from a professional point of view,” said the former Canadian Air Force pilot and instructor. Thanks to the quick response of the ER team and Dr. Cameron’s life saving diagnosis using a portable ultrasound machine, Mr. Naylor lived through this ordeal to meet his wife, Emily and relocate from St. Eleanors to Victoria West.
But history would repeat itself just four years later. Gary was once more overcome with immense abdominal pain. And once again, Mr. Naylor’s life was saved through the care he received at PCH and using the Portable Ultrasound equipment as well as a CT scan. After diagnosis he was again rushed to Halifax by helicopter and received a second life-saving operation.
“My life’s been extended by at least six years by the Emergency Department at PCH and I’m very very thankful for it… It’s been a great six years for me.”
