Through his work in engineering and public relations with Mack Trucks, the official hauler of NASCAR, Lee Rollins was thrilled to meet driving legends like Jeff Gordon and Buck Baker.
Thrilled, but humble. "I was never a key player. I was always in the footlights – never the spotlight. But I’ve certainly been in the middle of some cool stuff," Rollins said.
But when it came to signs of trouble in his own body’s engine, his heart, the Bishopville man was slower to act. "I’d been treating my indigestion, as I thought I had, for a couple of weeks. It got to the point that I was uncomfortable. I had no energy," Rollins said.
Rollins, who now works for O’Reilly Auto Parts, was doing something unusual to try to ease that exhaustion. "I would go outside at lunch, actually, and put on the air conditioning in my Jeep or my car and take a nap at lunch. Everyone at work noticed that I slowed down. They said, ‘What is wrong? Is your age catching up to you, or are you just not as energetic?’ I knew something was wrong."
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He’d also felt pressure in his chest on a Wednesday. "Thursday morning, when my feet hit the floor, I had an immediate sense of discomfort and just a feeling of foreboding."
Rollins still planned to drive to work. But on the way, he knew work would have to wait. "I was having trouble focusing. I didn’t have a lot of strength in my arms. I broke out in a sweat and really had a sense of pressure in my chest."
He headed to the emergency room at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville. There, he met Abdallah Kamouh, M.D., an MUSC Health cardiologist from Florence who also sees patients at Carolina Pines.
"Dr. Kamouh came in and introduced himself to me. And my enzyme levels were steadily climbing. And he said, ‘Mr. Rollins, you’ve had, and are continuing to have, a heart attack.’"
Rollins was transferred for surgery to MUSC Health in nearby Florence, which has a cardiology center. Iva Smolens, M.D., performed bypass surgery to clear blockages in his arteries. "His heart attack was pretty significant," she said.
Rollins is grateful for the care he received. "I never, ever hurt. Everything they did, they took the time to explain. I fell in love with everybody on Floor 2 in the ICU," he said, referring to the intensive care unit at MUSC Health Florence Medical Center.
"They’re my angels, every one of them. They knew I was scared. They went out of their way just to take such excellent care. I hated to go home to the real world."
The care team appreciated him as well. "He was the ideal patient," Smolens said.
