MODESTO, Calif. – May, 2026 – A few days after delivering her son, Noel, via emergency C-section at Doctors Medical Center (DMC) on March 25, 2025, Modesto resident Denise Guerrero’s joyful celebration at the birth of her baby turned into a life-threatening nightmare.

While at home feeding Noel, Guerrero, now 28, suddenly became short of breath and passed out. “My family thought I was having a panic attack,” she recalled. “I think, out of everything, that was one of the scariest moments – not being able to breathe.”

A family member dialed 911 and an ambulance rushed her to DMC’s emergency department (ED), where she was found to have a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism, or blood clot in her lung.

“She was so critical that the ED team contacted our intensivist, Dr. Ramanjeet Singh, who rushed down to the ED and assessed her,” said Michael Tillet, RN, BSN, DMC’s Assistant Director of Critical Care. “He made the call to put her on veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO).”

VA-ECMO is an advanced mechanical life-support system that temporarily takes over the function of a patient’s heart and lungs if their own organs are unable to sustain them. Its use is often driven by a clinical judgment that a patient is unstable with a risk of imminent death from cardiopulmonary failure.

Guerrero was also found to have a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a type of hole in the heart which, for most people, causes no adverse health effects.

After a recent procedure to close the PFO, performed by Lina Ya’Qoub, MD, FACC, FSCAI, a structural and interventional cardiologist at Central Valley’s Cardiovascular Group, Guerrero is fully recovered from her terrifying healthcare episode – and profoundly grateful for the tenacity and skill of the DMC specialty clinical teams and the ambulance crew who worked together to save her life. She also celebrated Noel’s first birthday.

“All of this has really changed my perspective, really made me realize all the love that I have and just how many people cared about me,” she said. “I want to thank everyone who was a part of my team that helped me recover and heal. I was able to see Noel again after almost three weeks. I was away from him for more time than I had been with him.”

“It’s pretty amazing to see her doing as well as she’s doing,” said Tillett. “You’d pass her at the grocery store and not even realize that she’d suffered such a massive event, such a traumatic event in her life. It’s a blessing. She’s a miracle, and to be a part of that miracle is an honor.”

A video about Guerrero’s remarkable story can be viewed here.