Bud Mote almost lost his life to a heart attack known as “the widow maker.”

“I had gotten in the recliner and was watching football,” Bud says.  “I fell asleep and at 3:30 in the morning I woke up, and I had a lot of chest pain. It was radiating from my back, and I was hurting pretty bad.”

Bud’s wife Kathy rushed him to Piedmont Mountainside Hospital.

“We’re up in the mountains, a good way off,” Bud says. “So it was about a 17- to 18-mile drive.”

"I just thought, 'I know that if I can get him to Mountainside, they’ll help us,'" Kathy says.

Upon his arrival, Bud was given nitroglycerin, and the decision was made to fly him to Piedmont Atlanta Hospital.

"What seemed like forever was probably just a few minutes," Kathy says. "And all I could think of was, "Do I hear the helicopter yet?'"

A life-saving flight

“They got me on the helicopter, and we were airborne in no time,” Bud says.  “It was a scary situation because I knew it wasn’t good.”

Bud was taken to Piedmont Atlanta’s cath lab, where he was treated for his condition. 

"By the time I got up to the cath lab, Bud was out, smiling and pink," Kathy says.

Giving thanks

Recently, the Motes had the opportunity to meet the same flight crew that helped Piedmont save Bud’s life.

It was an emotional reunion. The Motes credit many people for Bud’s successful outcome: the emergency room staff at Piedmont Mountainside for the quick diagnosis, the helicopter flight crew for their professionalism, and the doctors and cath lab staff at Piedmont Atlanta who quickly worked to save Bud – and Kathy – from "the widow maker.”

Time is muscle, so swift action matters. Piedmont Mountainside is very proud of its “door-to-balloon” time. On average, it takes less than 90 minutes for Piedmont Mountainside to transfer a heart attack patient from its front door to Piedmont Atlanta’s cath lab.

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