12 Memorial Medical Milestones • 2025 Issue 2 When chest pains sent Robert Cholley to the emergency room, he wasn’t expecting much. “I was regretting going, honestly—ERs are usually chaotic,” he says. “But the man who checked me in was so polite. Right away, it felt different.” After being diagnosed with a heart attack, Cholley had three stents placed the next morning. The level of care he received left an impression that stuck. “The nurse that night—she was incredible,” Cholley says. “I even told my wife, ‘She’s so nice; it almost feels too good to be true.’” Then a historic snowstorm hit southwest Louisiana on the night of Jan. 21, 2025, covering the area with about 5.5 inches of snow. Because of the weather event, some hospital staff stayed overnight, and patients couldn’t be discharged For over six decades, John William Digiglia, MD, dedicated his life to saving others. As a renowned cardiovascular surgeon, he spent years in operating rooms, surrounded by skilled medical professionals, making split-second decisions that determined the fate of his patients. But now, retired, he found himself on the other side of the hospital bed—not as a surgeon, but as a patient. One evening, a sharp, unrelenting pain gripped Dr. Digiglia’s chest. Sweat beaded on his brow, and his left arm felt heavy and unresponsive. He knew the signs all too well, as this Gaining a new perspective Care that feels ‘too good to be true’ Even during a snowstorm, Memorial providers are on top of their game wasn’t his first encounter with these symptoms. His son, recognizing the urgency, rushed him to the emergency room at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital. ‘I was in the right place’ The moment they arrived, a nurse met him at the door. Within moments, an EKG was underway, blood was drawn and a doctor was at his side. The speed and efficiency of the ER team was impressive, as he has experienced before. Something seemed different this time, though, and it was in how he saw his caretakers in a whole different light. He’d spent years in medicine, but now, under their care, he felt something he hadn’t anticipated—an overwhelming sense of reassurance. “I felt like I was their only patient,” he recalls, shaking his head with amazement. “But I knew better. It was an ER, for goodness’ sake. And still, I knew right away—I was in the right place.” When the lab results confirmed elevated cardiac enzymes, the ER physician wasted no time. A A heart surgeon’s experience as a patient Robert Cholley, heart patient John William Digiglia, MD, retired cardiovascular surgeon, is grateful for the Memorial team.
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