UNDATED (KTHV) -- When you have a medical emergency, every second counts. Just ask Frank Englerth, and the doctors at UAMS, who saved his life.
Sometimes, it's not only modern medicine, but also protocol, that can mean the difference between life and death.
"They picked me up in Crosset at one of those helipads, and they flew me here to UAMS." said Englerth. "When they landed out here, God it looked like the army out here."
Englerth, 74, was in a fight for his life, but he remembers it well.
"Dr. Ali told me 'hey look if it would have been another 15 or 20 minutes, you wouldn't have been alive'," said Englerth.
That's the amount of time it took doctors at UAMS, to discover Englerth was suffering from the same condition that killed his father - a ruptured aneurism.
"An aortic emergency is life threatening. There's no second thoughts about it," adds UAMS Vascular Surgeon Dr. Ahsan Ali.
Ali and the staff at UAMS jumped into action. Experience has taught them, there is no time to waste. They began a protocol they call the Aortic Pathway.
Ali says, "Each second counts, literally."
By joining their efforts, and using the latest technology and testing, they can determine within minutes can if a pateint needs to be rushed into the operating room.
It's a quick determination, that could be the difference between life and death.
"There's more people that needs to know this is available," says Englerth. " I know right here because had not it been, I wouldn't be here today."
Englerth spent six days in intensive care, and was released from the hospital about a week after the the medical helicopter rushed him to the emergency room. That was around a year ago.
Today, he's back to fishing and doing the things he used to.