{"id":41162,"date":"2025-07-30T13:26:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/?p=41162"},"modified":"2025-07-31T11:52:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T16:52:37","slug":"dr-vinay-badhwar-patient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2025\/07\/30\/dr-vinay-badhwar-patient\/","title":{"rendered":"Simeon’s Story: Life Flight to Half-Marathon Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

The patient success stories in our community<\/a> just get better-and-better.\u00a0 This time, Simeon Swinger from Farmington, Pennsylvania, shared his extraordinary story with us.<\/p>\n

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\"Dr.<\/p>\n

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Simeon’s Unexpected Asymptomatic Diagnosis<\/h2>\n

Here is what Simeon wrote to me…<\/p>\n

On a routine checkup after my 45th<\/sup> birthday in 2023, my family doctor discovered a heart murmur<\/a>.\u00a0 Ironically just moments before, I had told him, \u201cI am preparing for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon and have never felt better in my life.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0I was asymptomatic.\u00a0 He advised me to schedule an echocardiogram before racing.\u00a0 That was April.\u00a0 The Echo was scheduled for early May.\u00a0 I was crestfallen and had to drop my plan to run the big race that year.<\/p>\n

Still, after the echo showed mild regurgitation of the mitral valve<\/a>, I was cleared for running, and started training again.\u00a0 But once more, my dreams were dashed.\u00a0 I passed my six-month stress test in September with flying colors.\u00a0 But that same month my personal life hit a crisis point.\u00a0 Because I was dealing with addiction, I joined a Christ-centered 12 step program called Celebrate Recovery.\u00a0 This was the best decision I ever made for my future heart health!<\/p>\n

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On Tax Day, Dr. Badhwar Performs My Robotic Surgery<\/h2>\n

I kept running on a maintenance level until December.\u00a0 But by Christmas, I began noticing shortness of breath at work. Soon, I couldn\u2019t even walk up the hill to my house without stopping.\u00a0 The TEE that winter showed severe regurgitation of the mitral valve.\u00a0 I requested the first available slot for a mitral valve repair<\/a>, but there was a big line up for Dr. Vinay Badwar<\/a>!\u00a0 I was offered April 15, tax day.<\/p>\n

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\nDr. Vinay Badhwar<\/a><\/p>\n

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The surgery, performed robotically<\/a>, went amazingly well.\u00a0 Dr. Badhwar was in my room the next day by 6:30am making sure everything was alright.\u00a0 He gave me the pics from the operation, and said, \u201cI gave you the biggest ring possible for your mitral valve, so you can pursue your dream of running again!\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"MitralSimeon’s Mitral Valve Repair with Annuloplasty Ring<\/p>\n

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A Recovery Bounce Back, Pleural Effusion and Depression<\/h2>\n

I was walking the block shortly thereafter, and doing stairs by that evening.\u00a0 Thanks to the exemplary care of my nurses and nurse practitioner at WVU Heart and Vascular Institute<\/a>, I was discharged from intensive care unit to home by 2pm the next day.\u00a0 That\u2019s how well I bounced back!<\/p>\n

But not everything goes smoothly after heart valve surgery.\u00a0 Two weeks later I was air lifted back to Ruby Memorial.\u00a0 A chest X-ray revealed I was suffering from a pleural effusion<\/a>, which a specialized team mitigated the next afternoon.\u00a0 I was released that evening and a week later I was walking into cardiac rehab<\/a>.\u00a0 As my CR sponsor likes to say, \u201cIt was time for triune healing \u2013 heart, mind, and body \u2013 to begin!\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Pleural<\/p>\n

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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.\u00a0 There, I climbed the island\u2019s 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 \u201ccompleting a 5k in September, and 10k later that fall.\u201d\u00a0 But, by the turn of the season, depression and anxiety set in \u2013 a huge set back to my running calendar.\u00a0 I had never been through this before. My wife, medical providers, and pastor redoubled their patient care and encouragement for me during this time.<\/p>\n

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My Daughter Dares Me to Turkey Trot<\/h2>\n

Then, on Thanksgiving break, my 18 year-old daughter threw me a dare, \u201cDad, we should run the Turkey Trot together.\u201d\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t signed up, hadn\u2019t thought I\u2019d manage it.\u00a0 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. \u00a0All the hours of cardiac rehab were paying off!!<\/p>\n

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\"Simeon<\/p>\n

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At Christmas break she upped the ante, \u201cDad, you run the Pittsburgh half marathon and I\u2019ll run the full.\u00a0 Training begins now!\u201d<\/p>\n

By mid-March, I still had my doubts, but my sponsor told me, \u201cI believe you can do it.\u201d\u00a0 That same weekend, my daughter called making sure we were signing up for the race.\u00a0 This was the final spark that got me going, and I started training seriously with eight weeks until race day.<\/p>\n

Crossing the finish line in 1 hour and 58 minutes, I pumped my fists in the air.\u00a0 It was a year almost to the day of my Medevac flight and here I was completing 13.1 miles.\u00a0 Perhaps a bigger sense of overcoming was knowing that I could believe again, live again, trust in God\u2019s way of showing how the impossible is possible again.<\/p>\n

They say the first thing I said in ICU after they removed the breathing tube was, \u201cIt\u2019s a miracle, I\u2019m alive.\u201d\u00a0 That sense of wonder, that gratitude for a second chance on this beautiful planet, is my gift for those I meet every day.<\/p>\n

Additionally I\u2019ve 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thanks again for the work you do to get the stories, videos, and pictures out there so that others may be encouraged.<\/p>\n

Keep on ticking.\u00a0 God bless!\u00a0 — Simeon Swinger<\/p>\n

Related Links:<\/p>\n