Shawn Sorenson likely would have died two years ago without the heroic efforts of a team of physicians and caregivers at Intermountain Medical Center. Shawn and his wife, Daun Sorenson, have been on a mission ever since to thank all the members of his care team on that fateful day. COVID-19 restrictions slowed them down, but they were recently able to connect with the last physician on their list.
Shawn in the Thoracic ICU at Intermountain Medical Center following his surgery.
The story actually began several years ago when Shawn was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He was eventually declared cancer free after undergoing months of treatments. Unfortunately, the cancer reappeared in late 2019. He did another round of chemotherapy and then was scheduled with urologist Jay Bishoff, MD, for surgery to remove the cancer in early 2020.
Daun says Dr. Bishoff told them he was nearly done with the surgery when he noticed one last clump of cancerous growth. He went to remove the cancer, an artery tore, and Shawn started to bleed.
“He told us Shawn’s veins and arteries were like tissue paper from all the chemo and everything that he’d endured over the years,” Daun says. “Dr. Bishoff started stitching the little tear. No big deal. No emergency.”
Then something went wrong and Shawn’s heart stopped.
A caregiver from the OR came out to Daun in the waiting room and told her they were doing CPR on her husband and they couldn’t get his heart to start pumping again.
“I told the nurse to go back and tell them to keep working and do their best because I kind of need him,” Daun says. “At that point I didn’t feel like Shawn was going to come home with me.”
The Sorensons with some of the various caregivers involved in saving Shawn's life, including Dr. Jay Bishoff, Dr. Evan Brownie, their OR nurses, and Dr. William Caine.
Evan Brownie, MD, vascular surgeon, was called in to help repair the artery. Shawn’s lungs capacity was poor because of the chemotherapy and chest compressions weren’t working well, so William Caine, MD, cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, put Shawn on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) heart and lung machine. Cardiovascular critical care intensivist Daniel Gutteridge, MD, and oncologist David Gill, MD, were also involved.
The care team was unsure if the ECMO would work to keep Shawn alive, but it did. After a few tense hours, he was stable enough to go to the ICU. Then his blood pressure later started to drop again, and he was rushed back to the OR for another emergency surgery.
By the time Shawn was finally stable, Daun says the care team was unsure if he’d ever recover. There was a chance he’d have lasting brain damage. His kidney function was down and there was a chance he’d need dialysis. Plus, his heart had been damaged.
“He was so sick,” Daun says. “They said if he comes out of this, you guys are going to be months in the hospital. It's going to be a long recovery. Like probably physical therapy and just relearning because, you know, he’s went through a lot and his organs are traumatized from the CPR and all of that.”
Against all odds, Shawn made a miraculous recovery and was able to leave the hospital in just five days. He’d soon fully recovered and has no lasting side-effects from his ordeal.
“I can do whatever I want, and I’m just very blessed to be here,” Shawn says. “I have no side effects really, other than neuropathy in my feet. But that’s from the chemo. I’m grateful for every day.”
“Whether you believe in a higher power or not, I think Shawn’s a living example that there is one,” Daun says.
“Mr. Sorenson truly was an amazing save that took multiple teams and an incredible TICU staff,” Dr. Gutteridge says. “It really was a testament to how fast we can mobilize care that pushes the boundaries of medicine, thanks to the resources Intermountain has committed to our specialty programs like ECMO.”
The keychain the Sorensons gave to the physicians who helped save Shawn's life.
Shawn and his family were so grateful for the care they received that they decided they wanted to do something to thank all the caregivers involved. But tracking everyone down and arranging to visit them all proved to be challenging, especially as the world plunged into the COVID-19 pandemic and visitors weren’t allowed at the hospital. But they were persistent and were eventually able to connect with everyone. They recently met with the last person on their list, Dr. Caine. They gave him and each of their physicians a special homemade keychain as reminder of the miracle they facilitated that day.
“It’s a little metal rod that has four sides,” Daun says. “We put the GPS coordinates for IMC on two of the sides. Then on the third side we put the date of the surgery and ‘OR #4.’ The fourth side says ‘I believed’ because I feel like each one of those doctors believed that they could make a difference if they tried their best. And I think they did.”
“I just don’t know how you say thanks,” Shawn says. “I don’t even think there’s a day that we don’t talk about them or think about them. They just left a huge impact on us.”
Shawn with his daughter, Sydnie, at her graduation from nursing school.
Shawn and Daun say they want all Intermountain caregivers to know their efforts are noticed and appreciated.
“You do make a difference,” Daun says. “Not every story may have a happy ending like ours, and I understand that when they don’t, it probably weighs on you heavily. But we need people in the healthcare business who care, who love their job, and have that passion.”
“The way they made us feel when we were there was so great,” Shawn says. “Like when I came out of recovery. Honestly, they made me want to get better, and not just physically. They made me want to be a better person. To care like some of them care. They were huge examples to us. What they do makes a difference.”
Shawn’s experience and the example of their caregivers also inspired his daughters to join the healthcare industry. Their oldest daughter is now a nurse, and their second daughter is a CNA working to earn her nursing degree.
“Because of how people treated us, it’s motivated them to think, ‘I want to be that person for somebody else,’” Daun says.
“Saying ‘Thank you’ isn’t adequate to describe what we feel for the many hands involved that day,” Shawn says. “We’re very grateful for them.”