‘I’d be dead if it wasn’t for this team’: Las Vegas hospital gives Arizona man second chance at life

KTNV, CINDY CARLTON, CNN

By Abel Garcia

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    LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Covering healthcare here in Southern Nevada over the last year, we’ve brought you many stories about patients having to leave the state for better treatment.

But now I have a positive story about a man from Arizona who was told by doctors there he had no chance of survival, until a hospital here in Las Vegas gave him a second chance at life.

PJ Carlton’s story is nothing short of a miracle.

“It was very challenging, very challenging,” he said.

After battling sepsis, cardiac arrest, strokes and a double leg amputation, doctors at two hospitals in Kingman, Ariz. told him there was no hope, that he should be taken off life support.

“I’m not going to give up cause I have a good team behind me,” he said.

He’s talking about the medical staff at Pam Health Specialty Hospital here in Las Vegas.

They focus on caring for patients with serious medical issues who need additional care and time in the hospital before they can go home.

PJ’s sister Cindy Carlton said she brought her brother here and everything changed.

“Some places might have millions of dollars in equipment, but they don’t have the heart that we have here,” she said.

When PJ arrived back in June, his condition was critical.

He couldn’t breath on his own, couldn’t even sit up without help, but Cindy said she chose Pam Health because of their respiratory therapy and wound care.

She told me in just a matter of weeks, PJ began making progress that no one thought was possible.

“They are why he recovered the way he did, and he continues to recover,” Cindy said.

“Do you think you would be here today if it wasn’t for this team?” I asked.

“Hell no, I wouldn’t be. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for this team,” PJ said.

PJ got off the ventilator and his breathing tube removed, gaining enough strength to sit up on his own.

In early August, he stood on his prosthetic legs for the first time.

Now, Dr. Jordana Cheta and his therapists are focused on building his strength and balance to help him get back home.

“How incredible is a story like this? I asked.

“I can’t even tell you. It makes you look at everything differently,” Cheta said. “I’ll take a video of something and then go back and show my nurses and say, hey guys, it’s not over. I know it feels sad to have a patient like him but there is hope and the patient can recover, like him.”

“The healthcare here in Southern Nevada rocks,” PJ said.

Once told he would never survive, PJ’s family is now watching him regain his independence thanks to this medical team here in Las Vegas.

“What really stood out for me was the love and the care that I got,” PJ said.

“How grateful are you for this team that is behind you here today?” I asked.

“I love those guys. I just love them all,” he said.

Now PJ is heading to Pam Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Centennial Hills to continue his rehabilitation journey.

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