PORTLAND, Maine — A thank you goes a long way, especially when you're thanking someone who helped save your life.
Megan DiMauro has been arriving for her baking shift at Maples in Yarmouth since her sister opened the bakery four years ago. It's not like her to miss a shift, which is why everyone was concerned when she didn't show up for work on a Saturday in April because she was rushed to Maine Medical Center.
"I had a tumor that was creating massive amounts of adrenaline, so it was just like constantly, go, go, go. My adrenaline was like 150 times a regular persons," DiMauro said.
DiMauro was also diagnosed with a condition where all of her white blood cells were in her heart, causing her to go into heart, liver and kidney failure. Dr. William Sauer at Maine Medical Center described her as the sickest person in the hospital.
"She was essentially dying," Sauer said. "Her heart wasn't working and her organs were failing because of it, so without the mechanical support that she had for that we don't know if she would in fact be with us today."
She went through a rough two and a half weeks at Maine Medical Center, but doctors and nurses helped her entire family through it. One nurse in particular holds a special place in Megan's heart, James White.
"Nurse James, he really helped my family," DiMauro said. "He played a big part in keeping my family happy."
Four months after surviving the scariest experience of her life, DiMauro got the chance to thank the nurses and doctors who saved her. Visiting the hospital and offering hugs to a full room.
"It really was so cool to see some faces that played such a big role in my recovery and really just saving my life," DiMauro said.
DiMauro did a suffer a second stroke just a few weeks before her visit to Maine Medical Center to thank the staff. She is doing much better and is back working her regular schedule at Maples.
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