Radio host survives heart attack thanks to Corbin ED’s swift action
When Kip Jervis walked through the doors of Baptist Health Corbin’s Emergency Department just two days after Christmas, he wasn’t sure he’d walk out again. In fact, he wasn’t sure he’d survive another hour.
“I knew I didn’t have time to get home,” he said. “Something in me knew – you don’t have time.”
Kip, a well-known radio voice in southeastern Kentucky, was in Corbin that day, just a few miles from the hospital. A sudden, crushing pain had started in his left arm and then raced into his chest, triggering a sense of panic. He climbed into his truck and tried to sip water but couldn’t hold the bottle.
He could barely breathe.
“I knew I was in big trouble,” Kip recalled. “I just started praying, crying out to God, ‘get me there.’ And I drove myself straight to Baptist.”
When Kip reached the ER doors, doubled over and desperate, what happened next left a lifelong impression.
“They didn’t need me to explain anything,” Kip said. “They knew the second they saw me. That team moved – they didn’t waste a second. I told the nurse, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack,’ and she already had people working on me. I’ll never forget that.”
The team at Baptist Health Corbin didn’t miss a beat. He was suffering what’s commonly known as a “widowmaker,” one of the deadliest types of heart attacks. But thanks to the immediate response of the emergency department staff, Kip survived. Not only that – he was sleeping in his own bed the next night.
“People don’t believe it when I tell them,” Kip said, shaking his head. “But it’s true. I had a heart attack on Friday, and I was home on Saturday night. That’s a testament to how fast and how good they are.”
As a man of deep faith, Kip sees a touch of grace in his survival, but he also gives credit where credit is due.
“I believe in prayer, absolutely,” he said. “But I also believe in great teams like this.”
This second chance hits a deeply personal chord, and he speaks about his recovery with honesty and humility.
“This changes you,” Kip admitted. “I’ve battled fear, I’ve wrestled with depression – feelings I never knew before. And you wonder, why do I feel this way when God spared me?”
But he’s finding his rhythm – getting back to his favorite things – drumming, attending concerts, and traveling with his wife.
“I’m coming through it now,” Kip said. “It’s been seven months. I can finally say I’m starting to feel like myself again – and that’s a huge thing for Kip.”
And just in time. This fall, Kip will become a grandfather for the first time.
“I’ve got so much to live for,” Kip said with emotion.
Looking back, Kip wonders if he should have recognized the signs sooner. Months of unexplained fatigue, unintentional weight loss, lingering aftereffects from spinal fusion surgery – all chalked up to aging or other ailments.
“Maybe we should’ve looked at my heart sooner,” he said. “Heart trouble runs in my family. But you just don’t want to believe it until it hits you.”
Now, he has a message to share, one he hopes will reach others before it’s too late: “If you feel like something’s wrong, trust your gut. And if you need help fast, Baptist Health Corbin is where you want to be.”
Kip’s experience is a powerful reminder of the life-saving difference emergency care makes, and why donor support is so vital.
“Because of you, there’s a place like this for people like me. I walked into Baptist Health Corbin dying and I walked out alive.”
“I knew I didn’t have time to get home,” he said. “Something in me knew – you don’t have time.”
Kip, a well-known radio voice in southeastern Kentucky, was in Corbin that day, just a few miles from the hospital. A sudden, crushing pain had started in his left arm and then raced into his chest, triggering a sense of panic. He climbed into his truck and tried to sip water but couldn’t hold the bottle.
He could barely breathe.
“I knew I was in big trouble,” Kip recalled. “I just started praying, crying out to God, ‘get me there.’ And I drove myself straight to Baptist.”
When Kip reached the ER doors, doubled over and desperate, what happened next left a lifelong impression.
“They didn’t need me to explain anything,” Kip said. “They knew the second they saw me. That team moved – they didn’t waste a second. I told the nurse, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack,’ and she already had people working on me. I’ll never forget that.”
The team at Baptist Health Corbin didn’t miss a beat. He was suffering what’s commonly known as a “widowmaker,” one of the deadliest types of heart attacks. But thanks to the immediate response of the emergency department staff, Kip survived. Not only that – he was sleeping in his own bed the next night.
“People don’t believe it when I tell them,” Kip said, shaking his head. “But it’s true. I had a heart attack on Friday, and I was home on Saturday night. That’s a testament to how fast and how good they are.”
As a man of deep faith, Kip sees a touch of grace in his survival, but he also gives credit where credit is due.
“I believe in prayer, absolutely,” he said. “But I also believe in great teams like this.”
This second chance hits a deeply personal chord, and he speaks about his recovery with honesty and humility.
“This changes you,” Kip admitted. “I’ve battled fear, I’ve wrestled with depression – feelings I never knew before. And you wonder, why do I feel this way when God spared me?”
But he’s finding his rhythm – getting back to his favorite things – drumming, attending concerts, and traveling with his wife.
“I’m coming through it now,” Kip said. “It’s been seven months. I can finally say I’m starting to feel like myself again – and that’s a huge thing for Kip.”
And just in time. This fall, Kip will become a grandfather for the first time.
“I’ve got so much to live for,” Kip said with emotion.
Looking back, Kip wonders if he should have recognized the signs sooner. Months of unexplained fatigue, unintentional weight loss, lingering aftereffects from spinal fusion surgery – all chalked up to aging or other ailments.
“Maybe we should’ve looked at my heart sooner,” he said. “Heart trouble runs in my family. But you just don’t want to believe it until it hits you.”
Now, he has a message to share, one he hopes will reach others before it’s too late: “If you feel like something’s wrong, trust your gut. And if you need help fast, Baptist Health Corbin is where you want to be.”
Kip’s experience is a powerful reminder of the life-saving difference emergency care makes, and why donor support is so vital.
“Because of you, there’s a place like this for people like me. I walked into Baptist Health Corbin dying and I walked out alive.”
“If you feel like something’s wrong, trust your gut. And if you need help fast, Baptist Health Corbin is where you want to be.”
The Dawn of a Healthier Tomorrow
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