Napa Valley transplants discover the power of local connections during a critical health emergency Photo, from left: Simon Patience and Lisa Giannini

When Simon Patience and Lisa Giannini retired from their careers at Apple, they were ready to leave the Silicon Valley rat race behind. As they planned for their retirement, they had a feeling that Napa was a special place, but they couldn’t have imagined how important their new community would become.

“Never have we felt the sense of community that we have here in Napa,” Simon says. “And our experience at Queen of the Valley really brought it home for us.” One day, following their regular workout at Orange Theory Fitness, Simon finished his run on the treadmill and after catching his breath, walked over to talk to Lisa and their coach, Erin Umutyan. “Out of the blue he just kind of collapsed,” says Lisa. “We checked for a pulse, and we just couldn’t find one.” Then Erin took charge and rushed to get the defibrillator while telling Lisa to run to the front desk to tell them to call 911. Thanks to the quick action of the gym staff, particularly coach Erin who performed CPR, Simon was resuscitated, but still in critical condition.

“It was terrifying,” Lisa says. “He was breathing again but kept saying, ‘help me; help me,’ and I was repeating, ‘I love you; I love you.’” Simon was taken to Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center, where his doctors confirmed that he had gone into cardiac arrest.

“I had the unfortunate luck to have bad genes passed to me,” says Simon, referring to the heart condition that took the lives of both his brother and his father. “But in that instant, being in this Napa community, my bad luck vanished.”

At the hospital, the couple was struck by the personal connections and community feel. They received compassionate care from staff who were genuinely invested in Simon’s recovery. Andrew Wong, M.D., Simon’s cardiologist, quickly responded and performed an angiogram, explaining the results to Simon in a way that resonated with his tech background.

“This is not like fixing a broken arm,” Simon says. “It’s really disruptive in your life and in many ways threatens your own self-image of how you’re going to live the rest of your life. We are so grateful for how Queen of the Valley simplified our life at a time where we really didn’t need complexity.”

Despite suggestions from out-of-town friends to seek care at larger institutions like UCSF, he chose to have bypass surgery at the Queen. This decision was influenced by the trust he had in Dr. Wong, the surgery team’s capabilities and the understanding that they would receive excellent care close to home. The couple appreciated the collaborative approach of cardiothoracic surgeon Shea Pribyl, D.O., who involved them in the decision-making process and explained options clearly.

“I always felt safe, and I think that was important,” Simon says. “[Bypass surgery] was possibly the most grueling and painful thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I felt safe with my physicians and the decisions we made together.”

Simon and Lisa’s journey through this health crisis has deepened their appreciation for their new community in Napa. They are more grateful than ever for the strength of local connections and the vital role that community hospitals play in providing personalized, accessible care.