Creativity helps illustrate her healthcare journey
Lori reunites with Emergency Department Team who assited her. Her art show was in February at the NVRH Charles M. and Hanna H. Gray Gallery
In October 2024, Lori Hinrichsen found herself on a path she never planned to take. While at home in her Lyndon studio, she suddenly felt unwell. Her unusual symptoms prompted her to call 911. Lyndon EMTs transported her to the emergency department of NVRH where staff confirmed that she was having a heart attack. She was quickly stabilized and readied for the 22-minute helicopter ride to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where she underwent life-saving surgery.
For Lori, the heart attack came out of the blue. Aware of the cardiac issues that run in her family, she was health-conscious, an active walker, kayaker and skier. “I was very active during my heart attack,” she says with a smile. “I had just walked 14,000 steps. I was feeling good.”
Her story carries an important message, says NVRH’s Dr. Nesbitt, especially for women, whose heart attack symptoms can be subtle and can include nausea, shortness of breath, and fatigue.
Artist, Lori Hinrichsen with ED doctor, John “Nez” Nesbitt.
“Lori trusted her instincts when something felt off,” he says “and that decision, along with the swift care from Lyndon Rescue, helped us diagnose and treat her in time”
Follow-up care a key part of her continued improvement
Now back home in the Northeast Kingdom, Lori continues her rehabilitation and is participating in the Cardiac Phase III program at NVRH, following a progressive aerobic exercise program and weekly patient education classes. The ability to gradually increase her strength and endurance, take nutrition classes, and connect with other local cardiac patients at her community hospital has been an important part of her recovery.
“It’s been confidence-building,” she says. “It’s also provided support with the mental health issues, because this didn’t only impact me, it impacted the people around me.”
Reunion with team provides healing for all
Hand-stiched artwork illustrates helicopter journey
In February, NVRH hosted an exhibit of Lori’s artwork, “One Hour North” at the Charles M. and Hanna H. Gray Gallery. At the exhibit opening, she was reunited with Dr. John “Nez” Nesbitt, Lyndon EMT Delbert Reed, and other staff who treated her at NVRH’s ED, including Meghan Crist, Cindy Blanchard, and Jennifer Martin.
At the opening, Lori and her medical team toured the exhibit and shared hugs and perspectives from that October day. Lori expressed her gratitude for the life-saving care she had received.
“No one panicked,” she recalls. “They were so caring and kind and reassuring—they looked into my eyes and said ‘you’re going to be OK.’”
The ED staff were thankful to Lori for reconnecting with them and for sharing her artwork.
“A lot of the time, we don’t learn what happens to a patient after we treat them,” observed Jennifer. “It’s really good to see this part of her journey.”
While much of Lori’s art in the exhibit focuses on the natural landscape, some recent work records the events of that October day and her recovery. One piece, “90 Minutes,” documents in needlework and appliqué the journey that took her from her home to the cardiac unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, including the brilliant fall foliage that she observed from the helicopter. Another piece traces the steady lines of her post-operative EKG in deliberate stitches on paper.
Lori greets ED Nurse, Jen.
Cardiac nurse Meghan Crist, who notes with relief the healthy pattern of Lori’s heart rhythms, finds the artwork deeply moving.
“It brings us all hope,” she says. “It’s the reason why we punch in every single day so that we can make a difference for the people in our community, so we can see them again. That’s the whole reason why we get into nursing.”
A vital pathway to high-quality care
In critical cases like Lori’s, every second counts. Lyndon EMTs were able to bring her to the Emergency Department within twenty minutes, where the NVRH medical team was able to treat and stabilize her. The hospital’s close working relationship with Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center ensured that emergency staff were able to coordinate her transportation and care so that she was able to get life-saving surgery in time.
Hospitals like NVRH are an essential link in the chain of care that saves the lives of Vermonters every day. But rising costs and increasing regulations are making it difficult for rural hospitals across the state to remain open. Many hospitals in Vermont are cutting programs and services for patients or closing for good. Without access to quality care nearby, the outcome for many critical patients might be different
The time is now to advocate to keep local hospitals in the communities they serve to ensure they can provide essential care for folks like Lori, now and in the future. Please reach out to your legislature and let them know how important NVRH and your community health care providers are to you and the people you care about.
- Advocate for NVRH and your local hospital by reaching out to Vermont legislature
- View Lori Hinrichsen’s artwork here
- Watch the healthcare reunion on WCAX
- See photos from the gallery event