For Glen and Georgina Geldert, retirement hasn’t meant slowing down. Keeping active and fit with daily walks and plenty of exercise, they enjoy good health and winters spent in Florida. When Glen underwent a routine polyp removal procedure at a health centre outside metro this past October, the couple took it in stride and made no changes to their upcoming plans. They had no idea of the sudden turn Glen’s health would take a week after the procedure. “I suddenly didn’t feel well,” Glen recalls. “I was tired. Before going out for dinner, I decided to lie down and rest. It sure went downhill from there.”

A tear in a polyp in Glen’s intestine had begun to suddenly bleed. When he arose from his nap, Glen knew something was terribly wrong. There was blood in his stool – a lot of blood – and he collapsed as his blood pressure dropped suddenly. Georgina called for an ambulance to take them in to the QEII, and their 14-hour life-and-death ordeal began.

“The EHS paramedics and the emergency department staff were amazing,” Georgina says. “I called for help at 5:15 pm and I can tell you, our house isn’t the easiest to find, but the ambulance was there in no time and Glen was being treated in the QEII before 6 pm.” Bleeding internally, and his condition complicated by the blood thinners he must take to combat a chronic blood clot, Glen’s condition was precarious. Through the night, the emergency department staff hovered around him, administering both the care and the comforting reassurance he needed. “I saw them hook me up to 15 bags of blood,” Glen says. “I knew they were fighting for me.”

Early attempts at stopping the bleeding were unsuccessful, and there were thoughts that perhaps a colostomy might be the only life-saving solution. “I told them if they had to do a colostomy,” Glen says with a twinkle in his eye, “that they should put it on my left side so it wouldn’t affect my golf swing.” In the end, a procedure involving the placement of four tiny internal clamps did the job, and Glen was out of danger. “All the while, I never thought about dying,” Glen says. “I just felt like I was being taken care of. I knew these people knew what they were doing.”

Georgina, who spent 14hrs at Glen's side, knew the seriousness of his condition. "I could see what was happening to my husband but knew it was best for him if I stayed strong. He kept telling me to go home and get some sleep and now that he's home and healthy I'm still catching up. Although physically and mentally draining I thought my heart would burst with gratitude for the staff in the ER and ICU who gave him such excellent care and were so considerate of me.”

Following the successful procedure to stop his internal bleeding, Glen spent two days in the ICU and then recovered enough to go home. “In no time I was home and walking around,” he says, “and now I’m getting ready to go to Florida for some golf. Everyone, from the paramedics to the folks in the Emergency Department and the ICU, were amazing. They saved my life.”