It was the Fourth of July 2024, but for the Sloan family, there were no fireworks or festivities. Instead, Megan Sloan stood by her husband Darrin’s bedside in the intensive care unit at Renown Regional Medical Center, watching machines take over while monitoring his fragile condition. Just a week earlier, Darrin, a devoted father, husband and retired sergeant with the Carson City Sherif’s Office, had been full of energy. Now, he was fighting for his life.
A Sudden Decline
Darrin’s journey began the previous week when he started feeling unwell. A visit to his primary care doctor, Dr. Cecilia O'Dowd with Renown Premier Care, resulted in a diagnosis of pneumonia and antibiotics. Within days, Darrin’s condition deteriorated – he fainted every time he tried to stand. Alarmed, Megan and their son Aidan rushed him to their local hospital in Carson City.
Things escalated quickly. Darrin was placed on a ventilator, and doctors delivered the devastating news: he was expected to pass away within 48 hours.
“Aidan and I said goodbye to Darrin at his bedside and thanked him for an incredible life, and a Chaplain came,” Megan said.
A Lifesaving Chance
A doctor affiliated with the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine overheard Darrin’s case. “He mentioned something called ECMO and said he’d heard a rumor that Renown had recently acquired this technology,” Megan said. “I didn’t even know what ECMO was, but it sounded like a chance.”
Darrin’s doctor called Renown and learned thatjust days earlier Renown announcedthat it was now home to northern Nevada’s first and only comprehensive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation – also known as ECMO – program.
The next few days were a race against time. Darrin arrived at Renown Regional Medical Center in the early hours of July 1, critically ill but stable enough for the transfer. His medical team, which now included specialists from Renown’s newly established ECMO program, worked tirelessly to prepare him for the lifesaving procedure.
“He was so fragile when he arrived,” Megan recalled. “We didn’t know if his body would hold up long enough for ECMO, but the doctors and nurses didn’t give up.”
Adding to the uncertainty, no one knew what was causing Darrin’s rapid decline. His care team ran countless tests, consulted infectious disease specialists and sent samples to labs across the country. Meanwhile, his condition continued to deteriorate. By July 3, his body was swollen and bruised and blood tests revealed alarming levels of carbon dioxide in his bloodstream. Despite this, his care team remained focused on stabilizing him.
On July 4, the decision was made: Darrin couldn’t wait any longer.
Dr. Charles Stahlmann, a critical care specialist, told Megan, “We’re moving forward with ECMO today.”
The room buzzed with activity as Renown’s ECMO team prepared for their first procedure. It was a holiday, and some members of the team arrived straight from their personal plans, Megan remembers someone even walked into the hospital wearing a bathing suit and penny loafers, but despite the holiday weekend attire, everyone’s focus was unwavering.
“I’ll never forget the way they came together for Darrin,” Megan said. “They were confident and ready, and that gave us hope.”
ECMO Begins
By the afternoon, Darrin was connected to the ECMO machine. Large tubes carried blood out of his body to be oxygenated and returned, allowing his lungs to rest and begin recovering. Megan watched as his blood gas levels began to improve within hours – Darrin’s body was responding.
But they still didn't know what caused his rapid decline in the first place.
Dr. Kevin Kuriakose, an infectious disease specialist at Renown, began asking a series of very specific questions to try to determine what might be causing Darrin’s rapid decline.
It was determined that a rare strain of bacteria, Legionella longbeachae, was responsible for Darrin’s condition. Once the diagnosis was confirmed, the medical team sprang into action once again. The pharmacist on Darrin’s care team, despite tearing her Achilles tendon on the Fourth of July, was committed to ensuring he received the right treatment. She quickly prepared the specific antibiotic needed to treat the Legionella infection.
“I remember the pharmacist saying, ‘I can make this,’” Megan said. “She knew exactly what Darrin needed, and despite everything, she made sure it was ready as soon as possible, all while wheeling around the hospital with a torn Achilles tendon.”
With the right medication, Darrin’s condition started to improve. His blood gases began to stabilize and the ECMO continued to support his recovery, allowing him the time he needed to fight back against the infection.
Recovery and Gratitude
Just days later, his care team began the process of weaning him off ECMO, and on July 12, he was officially removed from the machine. Slowly but surely, Darrin began to regain his strength.
Megan and Aidan remained by his side the entire time, cheering on every small victory. By the end of July, Darrin had left the ICU, graduated from telemetry and taken his first steps in Renown’s Rehabilitation Hospital, climbing14 stairs in one session – a monumental achievement for someone who had been so close to losing his life, and the same number of stairs at the Sloan’s home in Carson City. On Aug. 5, just over a month after his ECMO journey began, Darrin walked out of the hospital and returned home.
Today, Darrin is living life to the fullest. He’s back at the gym, running daily and lifting weights – stronger than ever before. This past fall, he even completed a neighborhood 5K in the same time he’d managed before his illness.
Reflecting on their experience, Megan credits the lifesaving ECMO technology, the Helmsley Charitable Trust and the incredible care team at Renown for giving their family a second chance. “We wouldn’t have had a chance without ECMO,” she said. “Darrin’s doctors, nurses and specialists cared for us as a family, not just a patient. Northern Nevadans are so lucky to have this program here – it saved his life.”
Tiffany Banks is one of the newest members of the Renown Health Foundation Board of Directors. She’s part of a dedicated group of 28 volunteers who lead fundraising for Renown Health, northern Nevada’s only not-for-profit academic health system.
Tiffany brings bold vision and relentless drive to make real change. She’s a founding member of Mamas for a Cause, a Reno nonprofit that raised $50,000 to support breast care services at the Conrad Breast Center at Renown South Meadows, a cause that’s deeply personal to her. She’s also an attorney and the CEO of Nevada REALTORS®, where she has shaped policies and amplified the voice of real estate professionals across the state.
Now she’s setting her sights on the title of Mrs. Nevada America, an honor celebrating women defined by service, ambition and heart.
Get to know Tiffany in her own words. Why she gives back, what motivates her to lead, and how she’s working to create lasting change.
For 16-year-old Madeleine, a patient at Renown Children’s Hospital, volleyball was more than a game; it was her passion. But during her first-year at Reno High School, she noticed a deep ache in her back. The pain worsened with each game, and soon, what once brought joy became unbearable.
“The pain was overwhelming. I was crying after every game because my back hurt so bad,” Madeleine said. “It felt like the upper half of my back was falling or compressing on the lower half. I remember thinking, I can’t do this anymore.”
Her pediatrician referred her to Dr. Michael Elliott, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Renown Children’s Hospital who specializes in scoliosis and spinal deformities. Thanks to community generosity, families in northern Nevada have access to pediatric specialists like Dr. Elliott, without having to travel far from home.
Madeleine had a dangerous 50-degree curve in her spine. Dr. Elliott explained that surgery was urgent and offered her best path forward. “It felt like my whole world flipped upside down,” Madeleine recalls.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, Renown Institute for Heart & Vascular Health has welcomed two new Philips echocardiography ultrasound machines.
