Simeon’s Story: Life Flight to Half-Marathon Victory
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 31, 2025
The patient success stories in our community just get better-and-better. This time, Simeon Swinger from Farmington, Pennsylvania, shared his extraordinary story with us.
Simeon’s Unexpected Asymptomatic Diagnosis
Here is what Simeon wrote to me…
On a routine checkup after my 45th birthday in 2023, my family doctor discovered a heart murmur. Ironically just moments before, I had told him, “I am preparing for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon and have never felt better in my life.” I was asymptomatic. He advised me to schedule an echocardiogram before racing. That was April. The Echo was scheduled for early May. I was crestfallen and had to drop my plan to run the big race that year.
Still, after the echo showed mild regurgitation of the mitral valve, I was cleared for running, and started training again. But once more, my dreams were dashed. I passed my six-month stress test in September with flying colors. But that same month my personal life hit a crisis point. Because I was dealing with addiction, I joined a Christ-centered 12 step program called Celebrate Recovery. This was the best decision I ever made for my future heart health!
On Tax Day, Dr. Badhwar Performs My Robotic Surgery
I kept running on a maintenance level until December. But by Christmas, I began noticing shortness of breath at work. Soon, I couldn’t even walk up the hill to my house without stopping. The TEE that winter showed severe regurgitation of the mitral valve. I requested the first available slot for a mitral valve repair, but there was a big line up for Dr. Vinay Badwar! I was offered April 15, tax day.
The surgery, performed robotically, went amazingly well. Dr. Badhwar was in my room the next day by 6:30am making sure everything was alright. He gave me the pics from the operation, and said, “I gave you the biggest ring possible for your mitral valve, so you can pursue your dream of running again!”
A Recovery Bounce Back, Pleural Effusion and Depression
I was walking the block shortly thereafter, and doing stairs by that evening. Thanks to the exemplary care of my nurses and nurse practitioner at WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, I was discharged from intensive care unit to home by 2pm the next day. That’s how well I bounced back!
But not everything goes smoothly after heart valve surgery. Two weeks later I was air lifted back to Ruby Memorial. A chest X-ray revealed I was suffering from a pleural effusion, which a specialized team mitigated the next afternoon. I was released that evening and a week later I was walking into cardiac rehab. As my CR sponsor likes to say, “It was time for triune healing – heart, mind, and body – to begin!”
I was doing so well, that two weeks later my wife and I traveled to Puerto Rico to rest and breathe in with a friend. There, I climbed the island’s highest peak El Yunque at 3,543 feet, just 6 weeks post-op!! Throughout that summer, my running training progressed as well; my stated goals included “completing a 5k in September, and 10k later that fall.” But, by the turn of the season, depression and anxiety set in – a huge set back to my running calendar. I had never been through this before. My wife, medical providers, and pastor redoubled their patient care and encouragement for me during this time.
My Daughter Dares Me to Turkey Trot
Then, on Thanksgiving break, my 18 year-old daughter threw me a dare, “Dad, we should run the Turkey Trot together.” I hadn’t signed up, hadn’t thought I’d manage it. But we walked in to the basement of the local Salvation Army the evening before the race, registered, and I amazed myself the next day by completing 3.1 miles in 25 minutes and 51 seconds. All the hours of cardiac rehab were paying off!!
At Christmas break she upped the ante, “Dad, you run the Pittsburgh half marathon and I’ll run the full. Training begins now!”
By mid-March, I still had my doubts, but my sponsor told me, “I believe you can do it.” That same weekend, my daughter called making sure we were signing up for the race. This was the final spark that got me going, and I started training seriously with eight weeks until race day.
Crossing the finish line in 1 hour and 58 minutes, I pumped my fists in the air. It was a year almost to the day of my Medevac flight and here I was completing 13.1 miles. Perhaps a bigger sense of overcoming was knowing that I could believe again, live again, trust in God’s way of showing how the impossible is possible again.
They say the first thing I said in ICU after they removed the breathing tube was, “It’s a miracle, I’m alive.” That sense of wonder, that gratitude for a second chance on this beautiful planet, is my gift for those I meet every day.
Additionally I’ve been recording at the piano again, as part of my recovery journey, and would love to share my pieces as another form of sharing hope for those that have been through heart valve surgery. You can listen to several hymns that I recorded on Bruderhof Music Channel at YouTube.
Thanks again for the work you do to get the stories, videos, and pictures out there so that others may be encouraged.
Keep on ticking. God bless! — Simeon Swinger
Related Links:
- Dr. Vinay Badhwar’s Interactive Surgeon Profile
- Celebrate Recovery: 12-Step Recovery Program
- Pleural Effusion: What Should Patients Know?
Written by Adam Pick
- Patient & Website Founder
