A critical emergency leads to lifesaving care and a grateful return

"They need to understand from the bottom of my heart, they began the healing of me."

When Charles Forth arrived at AdventHealth Minneola on March 23, he and his wife, Charlene Forth, thought he might need to be admitted to the hospital.

They never imagined how quickly the situation would unfold.

Charles Forth had been feeling ill for several days and had lived with chronic liver disease for 25 years. But when the Forths arrived at the emergency department, his condition deteriorated rapidly.

"His heart was barely beating and fluttering," Charlene Forth said. "His kidney and liver were shutting down, and I knew things had gone very, very bad."

The AdventHealth Minneola emergency team, led by Jermaine Deacon, MD, medical director of emergency medicine at AdventHealth Minneola and AdventHealth Clermont ER, acted quickly to stabilize Charles Forth for transfer to AdventHealth Orlando, where he could receive the specialized cardiac support his condition required.

"Charles needed us at a critical moment, and our team was ready to respond," Dr. Deacon said. "We did everything we could to stabilize him and connect him with the specialized care he needed."

For Charlene Forth, the decision about where to seek care was clear.

"I never could've imagined any of this," she said. "But what I did know -- he was only going to be in the hands of AdventHealth."

Charles Forth was transferred to AdventHealth Orlando, where his condition remained critical.

His care team continued searching for ways to help him survive.

"I just don't want to die," Charles Forth recalled telling his doctors. "I don't want to leave my son and my wife."

Along the way, his family says the care team continued to give them hope one day at a time.

"They just didn't want to give up on him," Charlene Forth said. "They just kept telling us to hold on to hope that he'll live another day."

Those days became weeks, and eventually, Charles Forth began to recover.

After more than 80 days at AdventHealth Orlando and completing rehabilitation, Charles Forth and Charlene Forth returned to AdventHealth Minneola.

This time, they came not as an emergency patient and worried spouse but to say thank you.

Charles Forth wanted the team to know just how much their care meant to him.

"They need to understand from the bottom of my heart, they began the healing of me," he said. "Had they not done what they did, I'd have just went home and died."

For the team at AdventHealth Minneola, seeing Charles Forth walk back through the doors was a powerful reminder of the purpose behind the work they do each day: to give people a chance at healing and hope.

For the Forths, that chance is something they do not take for granted.

"We made the right decision that morning, and we've never regretted it," Charlene Forth said.