It was supposed to be an ordinary summer day in Vacherie. Cassie Falgoust, 55, was outside doing yard work while her husband mowed nearby.
She started weed eating when she was hit with a sudden pain.
“I felt this enormous pop in my chest,” Cassie recalls. “It was like there was a giant hole in me, like Iron Man’s chest. I thought I was having a heart attack.”
Her husband, Ted, raced over as she struggled to breathe. Within minutes, paramedics were rushing her to the nearest hospital in Thibodaux. There, doctors discovered it wasn’t a heart attack. It was an aortic dissection, a dangerous tear in the body’s main artery.
Cassie needed to be transferred to a hospital that was equipped to handle these types of complex heart cases. She was given the option of being flown to a hospital in New Orleans or to Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge for care. Her daughters — one an ER nurse in Raceland and the other a physical therapist at Our Lady of the Lake — looked at each other and agreed immediately: Our Lady of the Lake.
A Daughter’s Instant Relief
Cassie’s oldest daughter, Abbey Gonzalez, DPT, works on the third floor of the Heart & Vascular Institute, the very floor where her mom would soon be treated.
“I felt instant relief knowing that she was coming to a place that I’m familiar with, that I support, that I trust the staff,” Abbey recalls. “I knew she was going to be in good hands.”
Cassie was airlifted to Baton Rouge, where cardiothoracic surgeon Carl Rigby, MD, and his specialized surgical team were ready. She suffered an aortic dissection, where a tear develops in the inner wall of the aorta, the main blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body. This tear allows blood to flow between the layers of the vessel wall, which can cause the aorta to rupture and become life-threatening if not treated quickly.
“They told me one in eight don’t survive the incident, and only about 20 percent survive the surgery,” Cassie says. “And I lived through the whole thing. I believe God had a hand in it, but I also believe those surgeons saved my life.”
Taking the Toughest Heart Cases
Ryan Landry, vice president of clinical operations for Our Lady of the Lake Heart & Vascular Institute, said Cassie’s story reflects what the team has worked hard to build.
For most hospitals, an aortic dissection is one of the most daunting cases a surgical team can face. At Our Lady of the Lake Heart & Vascular Institute, it is a challenge the team has chosen to embrace.
The institute already had high volumes and excellent outcomes for aortic dissections, and the surgeons recognized that many hospitals in the region lacked the resources to handle these cases. In 2022, it started to seek out these cases and have other hospitals and transfer centers bring their complex aortic cases to the Lake immediately.
“We’re taking the sickest of the sick that other programs don’t want to manage,” Landry says. “Our ability to deliver complex services isn’t easy. Few facilities have the capability, and it’s a reflection of the overall quality of the program to be able to manage the aortic dissections.”
Many hospitals in the region hesitate to accept these high-risk cases, but Landry said that the institute recognized its experience and resources could provide patients with a better chance of surviving. That realization led the hospital to make a conscious decision to accept cases others would not, marking a turning point in the program.
Landry said that 10 aortic dissection cases is the milestone number for a high-volume center. The Heart & Vascular Institute has performed between 20 and 40 complex heart procedures while still maintaining its high levels of successful patient outcomes.
That success requires more than just expert surgeons. The institute is supported by cardiac-trained anesthesiologists, a dedicated operating room team that focuses solely on heart procedures, a specialized post-op unit, therapy staff trained in cardiac rehab and a critical care team equipped to manage the most complex cases. Every component of the program is intentionally structured to support high-risk patients.
“It’s an example of just the whole engine pushing us to a level where we have excellent subspecialties in every area,” he says. “You could take our nurses and place them in any top cardiac intensive care unit in the country, and they would be able to complete the shift without any problem. That’s how good they are.”
Seeing Her Workplace Differently
For Abbey, watching her mother fight for her life in the same hospital where she works every day was surreal and deeply moving.
“Seeing my mom in that vulnerable state reinforced the emotional aspect of our work,” she says. “Patients are having some of their worst days here. Experiencing this personally helps me understand and support my patients better. I now use my mom’s journey to encourage and reassure patients during rehab.”
She wasn’t alone in her worry. Her coworkers rallied around her, checking on Cassie and supporting Abbey’s entire family. Even staff members who weren’t directly assigned to her mother would stop by, showing that the hospital’s culture of care extends beyond medicine to genuine concern for people.
“It goes to show you that each person is important on the team, from the surgeon to the mid-levels to housekeeping,” she says. “Every staff member is an important aspect of the care here. It feels good to know that that’s how we treat patients.”
Treated Like Family
Cassie spent a week at Our Lady of the Lake, and what she remembers most isn’t just the lifesaving care. It’s the kindness. Every member of the staff treated her and her family with warmth. Her day nurse connected with them and brought moments of laughter, while her night nurse provided gentle, thorough care.
When she returned for follow-up visits, that compassion didn’t stop.
“When I went to get a cardiologist, I picked someone with Our Lady of the Lake because of the way that I was taken care of,” she says. “When I was going through this in the beginning, I would go to bed and think ‘This is it. I’m going to die.’ But everyone on the cardio team encouraged me and still supports me when I go to cardiac rehab. Now I know I can do this. I don’t think I’m going to die every day now.”
Even after her discharge, Cassie came back to the third floor to bring cookies to the nurses’ station to show her appreciation, proudly wearing a T-shirt that read “Aortic Dissection Warrior” and her husband in one that read “I Survived My Wife’s Aortic Dissection.”
For Abbey, the experience reaffirmed everything she believes about her hospital.
“This showed me what true care looks like,” she says. “It’s not just the surgeons—it’s everyone, from top to bottom, wrapping their arms around you. That’s what saved my mom.”
Cassie agrees.
“They’re the best hands you can be in,” she says. “I wouldn’t be here without them.”
