Orleana Mark of Oklahoma was sitting alone in the Patient's Waiting Room of Hackensack University Medical Center at 7:30 a.m. on June 13th when I arrived with my son. They had just taken my husband in for bypass surgery.

As in most waiting rooms, people get to talking about their situation; and we began to chat, the following story unfolded.

Orleana (74) and her husband Charles (78) had arrived in New Jersey on Thursday morning June 8th on a tour of New York. They had planned this trip for a very long time, but only in February plucked down a bit over $3,000 in cash and eagerly awaited the day their long-standing dream would come through.

Orleana was exited about going to the Catskill Mountains, West Point and the Roosevelt Mansion in Hyde Park, and Charles was similarly enthusiastic about visiting the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the museums, and the Big Apple.

Upon Arrival at Newark airport, the group was transported to the courtyard by Marriot Hotel in Secaucu. They rested awhile, walked around the hotel and had dinner at a Mexican Restaurant. After dinner, they joined the tour to go to Broadway to see Annie Get Your Gun.

Though they were very tired and up later than usual, they thoroughly enjoyed the show, especially the Bernadette Peters.

When they arrived back at the hotel, they went to sleep. The next morning, June 9th at 6:45 a.m., after Charles and Orleana were completely dressed and ready to go down and get some breakfast, Charles complained about severe chest pains. He took several Nitros and rolled up onto the bed and just lied there.

Orleana called the desk, but no one answered so she took the elevator downstairs to the lobby. A waitress was standing at the foot of the elevator and Orleana told her that her husband was having a heart attack. The waitress said "stand right here and I'll be right back". The waitress then yelled into the kitchen that there was an emergency on the sixth floor and someone should call 911 and get a defibrillator immediately. The waitress and Orleana went back upstairs to tend to Charles.

Within 5 minutes, an ambulance arrived from Meadowlands Hospital and by 7 a.m., Charles was admitted. The staff started working on Charles immediately, and after a while told Orleana they would have to put in a balloon pump. They would also make arrangements to get him a room at Hackensack University Medical Center.

The staff at Meadowlands Hospital was very understanding of Orleana's predicament. They allowed her to make calls to her family and their family physician, who encouraged her to have surgery done immediately and not to wait until they returned to Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, there were no rooms available at the moment at Hackensack. The ambulance waited one and one-half hours but had to return to other emergencies, promising to return as soon as a room was available.

At approximately 4 p.m. on this busy Friday afternoon, the ambulance returned and took Orleana and Charles to the HUMC Cardiac Unit. The trip took over 30 minutes through very heavy traffic. The sight of all the cars moving aside to let the ambulance through overwhelmed Orleana, and she felt as if she were going to cry.

Once he was admitted in his room, they made Charles comfortable and medicated him. No invasive procedures occurred over the weekend. But the first thing Monday morning, they did angioplasty and determined that he needed a 5-way bypass, which was scheduled for the next day.

Of course Orleana missed the tour to New York City and Circle Line tour of Hudson. The group checked out Monday morning and the tour guide assured Orleana that she would be refunded for any tours she did not attend. The only thing they couldn't take care of was insuring her of no further charges for airfare. I then learned that Orleana had no charge cards, nor did they have any checks with them. They had paid for their trip and only had enough cash to pay for the meals not covered by the tour.

As the saga unfolded, Orleana realized she did not have enough money to stay in the hotel, buy meals, and take a taxi to and from the Courtyard in Secaucus to Hackensack. The round trip fare from Secaucus to Hackensack was $50 not including a tip for the driver.

The Courtyard was very understanding. They first tried to find her a room closer to Hackensack Medical Center But everyone was booked solid. They then offered her to remain there at a substantially lower rate.

Hearing this story, I knew more help would be available.

I called Frank Fritzky, President of Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce and told him about the dilemma Orleana was in. Rich immediately contacted Tom Muir, out Board member who heads up our hotel and Tourism Committee. Tom contacted all the properties near the hospital; however there were no vacancies. Rich then spoke with Krishna Murthy of Meadowlink (our computer partner) who recommended we call Garden State Limousine (a long-standing member of our chamber). When Rich told them of the problem, they agreed to take Orleana round-trip to HUMC for free for the next 7 days. Rich then tried to organize some free meals for her.

When I returned to the meeting room after speaking with Rich, a patient advocate named Joy entered the room. Orleana and I told her what was happening and I asked here if there was any the hospital could arrange for at least one meal a day for Orleana. She vowed to follow up and advise us of the outcome.

At 11:45 our Surgeon appeared and advised that my husband was well and in recovery. We then learned that the same surgical group was operating on Charles and my husband at the same time. Orleana was happy for us but quite nervous because her Surgeon had not yet appeared.

When her Surgeon did arrive, at approximately 1:30 p.m., he told her Charles was in recovery and doing well. We were both very relieved.

After visiting hours, I took Orleana back to the Courtyard and made arrangements to pick her up the next morning, which was June 14th.

By this time, Rich and Meadowlink had arranged for Garden State Limousine to begin the free trips on Thursday, June 15th. That evening, my son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter took Orleana for a dinner and drove her back to her hotel.

Our patient advocate, Joy, came in and told me that Orleana would have one free meal daily, sent up to Charles' room for as long as he would be there.

Needless to say, we visited each other every day. Charles was in the room next to my husband's and we were both delighted at their progress and overwhelmed by the care they received.

Orleana said that if she were a millionaire, she couldn't have expected to get better care- I agreed.

On Sunday morning, June 18th, as I entered the hospital, there was a black Limousine with Orleana's name on the door. She was arriving the same time as me, only she looked like a celebrity.

My husband was discharged that afternoon. As we hugged and kissed good-bye, Orleana told me they would be returning to Tulsa on Tuesday. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers and promised to keep in touch. Of course, they hoped to return to New York one day and see all the sights they missed.

I just received a lovely letter from Orleana, thanking me for my trouble. This money will be given to the Meadowlands Regional Chamber and used to help another victim of circumstance. (Perhaps another act of random kindness will help them realize their dream).

Thanks to the following people for coming to the rescue of a visitor from Oklahoma:

• The Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, Rich Fritzki, President, and Tom Muir
• Hackensack University Medical Center, administrative, surgical and nursing staff
• Garden State Limousine
• Meadowlink, Krishna Murthy, Executive Director, and Carol Swanstrom
• Courtyard by Marriot in Secaucus, management and staff
• Meadowlands Hospital administration and nursing staff.