A Life-saving Procedure

On an ordinary night in March 2025, Sara Mortier was getting ready for bed at her Chesterfield condo.

Seventy years old and a retired medical biller, Sara was leading an independent and active life.

Then, without warning, the pain hit.

“I’d never felt anything like this before,” Sara says. “It was in my abdomen, and it was excruciating. I thought it was the end for me.”

Alone in her home and too weak to stand, Sara dragged herself into her bedroom to get her phone, a task that took three grueling hours.

“I knew I needed 911,” she says. “But I called my daughter instead. One button was easier than three.”

By the time her daughter arrived, Sara was lethargic and barely able to speak. Her daughter called an ambulance, which rushed her to Henry Ford Macomb Hospital.

Moving quickly

In the ER, an emergency CT revealed what the team suspected: Sara had an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The aorta is the largest artery in the body, and it runs from the heart down to the abdomen, supplying blood to the body. When the wall of this blood vessel weakens, it can form an aneurysm, or bulge. If it ruptures, it can cause potentially fatal internal bleeding.

Sara’s aneurysm was massive: seven centimeters.

“I don’t remember much, but I remember hearing the word ‘rupture,’” Sara says. “I knew that wasn’t good.”

Even with immediate surgery, survival chances are slim. Fortunately, Sara was placed in the hands of Melissa Hetrick, D.O., vascular surgeon at Henry Ford Health.

Dr. Hetrick and her team moved quickly, prepping Sara for an advanced procedure called percutaneous endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR).

Unlike traditional open surgery, which requires a large incision in the abdomen, EVAR uses a minimally invasive approach. After a needle poke in the arteries in the groin, the surgeon threads a stent graft into the abdominal aorta, guided by imaging. A stent is a metal mesh tube, and a graft is a fabric tube. When combined into a stent graft and placed in the aorta, this medical device reinforces the weakened section of the artery.

A fight for survival

Sara doesn’t remember going into surgery, but Dr. Hetrick spoke to Sara’s daughter to prep her: even with emergency EVAR, survival wasn’t guaranteed.

Early in the morning, the team began the procedure. When Sara woke up, she was on a ventilator in the ICU.

“I didn’t know why, and I couldn’t talk. I freaked out,” she says.

But with her daughter by her side fielding updates and offering reassurance, slowly, Sara pulled through. She spent almost two weeks in the hospital. Along with the aneurysm repair, she also recovered from a case of COVID-19 and was discharged with supplemental oxygen.

For a few weeks, Sara worked with home health nurses, and physical and occupational therapists, before easing off the oxygen. At her follow-up visit with Dr. Hetrick, she learned the stent was secure, and her healing was on track.

It was a moment that Sara was more than happy to hear.

“I cried when I saw Dr. Hetrick,” Sara says. “I told her, ‘Thank you for saving my life.’”

Spreading the word, and finding new purpose

Today, Sara feels mostly back to normal, despite not having the stamina she previously had. She tends her garden, reads, and enjoys travel and spending time with her daughters and granddaughters.

With no family history or warning signs, Sara never thought she’d have an aneurysm. Now, she’s spreading the message about the importance of screening.

Her care team advised her daughters and siblings to get checked for aneurysms, and both daughters had ultrasounds. Their results were normal, giving the family some peace of mind.

As for Sara, she’s focused on the future and on finding purpose in her second chance.

“God saved me for a reason,” she says. “I want to figure out what that is.”

When Sara reflects on her experience, her emotions are simple and powerful.