Lynn Wesson: A Lesson in Giving Back

Lynn Wesson was first introduced to the beauty of the Emerald Coast as a small child. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she grew up in a loving, close-knit family. Her parents, who wanted their children to “see the world”, traveled extensively throughout the U.S. But a favorite destination, often visited, was Panama City.

Lynn was to embrace a lifelong career as an elementary school teacher. For twenty-five years, she educated children in Montgomery, Alabama, saying,” I taught kids from all walks of life and many different countries. I learned so much from them. We became family.”

In 1997, upon retiring, Lynn moved to her beloved Emerald Coast and became a resident of Sandestin Resort. Wanting to stay active, she began working as manager of the Charitable Giving Program for Silver Sands Premium Outlets, an annual donor to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital. Silver Sands was to be a presenting sponsor (along with Howard Group and Grand Boulevard) for Sacred Heart Foundation’s 2023 Charity Golf Classic. Thus Lynn, by virtue of her job, was first introduced to the hospital through attendance at numerous planning committees for the Classic, giving assistance to make this major fundraiser for the ministry successful.

Devoted to exercise, Lynn was out for her usual morning walk in Sandestin Resort -only to wake up a week later in Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital. “I have no memory of anything that happened. I know nothing,” Lynn will tell you. She had suffered sudden cardiac arrest, as a result of atrial fibrillation or AFib, an irregular heartbeat she had been diagnosed with some time ago.

She will be forever grateful to the two security guards – Brian and Alec – who were nearby when she collapsed, saying, “ “Thanks to them, I am still here.” They called for help, applied CPR, and used an automated external defibrillator in an effort to restore her heart rhythm.

After becoming conscious, her sons who were at her side, told her she had been “out of it” for days, on a ventilator, sedated in the Intensive Care Unit. But the expertise of the hospital’s highly experienced cardiologists and staff was remarkable: “The care I received was over the top”, she states.”

Everybody was not only professional, but really kind.” As a result, by the end of her second week’s hospitalization, Lynn was able to go home. Today, she is doing well - and thankful for the compassionate, personalized healthcare she received.