Angela Lee (center) with her Lahey care team
A Second Chance
The power of investing in Lahey’s lifesaving care
At a pivotal time in health care, Lahey Clinic is rising to meet the needs of its communities by investing in the people, technology, and spaces that will shape the future of medicine. Through The Campaign for Lahey Clinic: care, elevated, a $150 million fundraising effort, Lahey is expanding access to specialized services, advancing innovation, and strengthening its ability to deliver deeply personalized care to every patient. The launch of this bold vision also heralds a return to the Lahey Clinic name—honoring a legacy rooted in collaborative, patient-centered care, as Lahey prepares for the next generation.
For those who come through Lahey’s doors during life’s most critical moments, these efforts can make a lifesaving difference—one that Angela Lee experienced firsthand.
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Angela, a teacher and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, experienced a cardiac arrest and initially sought care at Winchester Hospital, where she learned she needed to be transferred to a Level I trauma center. She chose Lahey without hesitation, recalling the excellent care that both her mother and husband previously received there. “Had I made any other decision,” she says, “I wouldn’t be here today.”
While at Lahey, Angela suffered another sudden cardiac arrest during a cardiac catheterization procedure. Her heart stopped for more than an hour, and, at one point, her chance of survival was estimated to be just one percent. Yet, in the face of overwhelming odds, the Lahey team did not give up. Physicians, nurses, and specialists across disciplines worked seamlessly to stabilize her through a cascade of complications, including multiple brain bleeds and loss of her vision. This is the power of the clinic model in action. Her vision returned, and she did not sustain any lasting neurological damage. By Thanksgiving, just weeks later, she was home with her family. Her recovery was nothing short of extraordinary.
Today, Angela is back in the classroom, guiding her students as she has for more than four decades. She is a beloved “nana” to her granddaughter and has another granddaughter on the way. And she continues to visit the Lahey team who, as she describes it, “gave me a new life.” She is grateful to her care team not only for saving her life but also for going above and beyond to ensure she and her family felt supported and cared for. “From housekeeping to physicians, everyone treated me with kindness and compassion,” Angela says. “It felt like a family.”
Angela’s story embodies what it means to elevate care for every patient and is just one example of what philanthropic support makes possible at Lahey. Through a focus on clinic transformation, innovation and discovery, and research and education, The Campaign for Lahey Clinic will help ensure that patients like Angela receive high-quality, compassionate care when they need it most.
“You have the power to make a difference in the lives of so many patients,” says Angela. “You’ve certainly made a difference in mine.”