About Me (In My Own Words)
My story is one of miracles. On March 31, I started feeling some “weirdness” in my chest. My wife asked if she should call 911 and I told her “No, just keep getting ready and you can take me in.” About 25 minutes later, we arrived at the ER and I was grey and not very conscious. They rushed me back and started working on me. I only remember bits and pieces of my ER visit. This part of my story was told to me by my wonderful wife. I was in the Cath Lab and the doctors discovered the severity of my situation. I had an ascending aortic aneurysm, dissection, and my valve “broke” - the heart “trifecta.” (This is the same condition that took John Ritter.) When the docs discovered the severity of my situation, they order a Flight for Life chopper to take me to a hospital that was equipped to handle my condition. The chopper was 3-4 minutes faster than ground ambulance but they said I needed every minute if I had a chance of surviving. During the flight the pilot called my wife and told her to have our clergy meet us at the hospital. I had a 10% chance of surviving and I wasn’t looking good. I was in surgery about 4 hours or so, while my wife and two daughters that live in Denver were waiting. My two other daughters flew in from Utah and New York City, hoping to talk to me one last time. This all took place during the fun Covid times. Once I regained consciousness I could only have one visitor at a time. When my family came to visit they were always very positive and upbeat, so I figured my surgery was no big deal and I’d walk out of the hospital in a few days. I didn’t know until later that they wondered if each time they saw me would be the last. I went home after about 4 days, and my brother flew in from Virginia to spend two weeks with me and help get me adjusted to my new way of life.
I’m not sure how much more I should go into, but I may be back with some edits and additions to my story.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
-
I am from:
Denver
-
My surgery date is:
March 31, 2021
-
I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Aneurysm
-
My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
-
My surgeon is:
Dr. Sanjay Trapathi