Maxine Sissons is beating the odds, and the 74-year-old mother and grandmother thanks Hurley Medical Center. On December 2, 2010, the Swartz Creek resident had sweating, nausea and chest pain. Sissons was rushed to Hurley. She suffered a massive heart attack, went into cardiac arrest multiple times, and required three stents to repair her heart in a life-saving surgery at Hurley.

Today, Sissons says every day is a gift.

“I am so grateful to be here with my family and helping educate women about heart health. I wouldn’t be here without the clinically excellent and compassionate care at Hurley,” says Sissons.

Heart attacks are the number one killers of women. “I want women to know the warning signs because I didn’t," says Sissons. "If women become educated, they won’t become a statistic like I almost did.”

“Maxine’s situation was life or death when she arrived at Hurley. We found she had 100 percent blockage in one artery and 99 percent in the other," says M. Luay Alkotob, MD, FACC, FSCAI, Hurley Cardiologist.  "If we didn’t use stents to open the arteries, she wouldn’t be here right now. Maxine suffered no neurological or long-standing effects from her hospitalization, and today she is enjoying a full and happy life. It’s really a miracle that Maxine is here,”

Sissons adds, “I will always remember the wonderful care I received. I just want everyone to know that I wouldn’t be here without Hurley. They saved my life.”