Share your stories

Open-heart surgery has improved if not saved the lives of millions of people. We'd like you to help mark this great medical advance.

If you or a close relative have had any kind of open-heart surgery, we would like to hear about your experience. We would be grateful to receive the following information: Your or your relative's name, current age, city or town, type of heart surgery and surgeon and the year and hospital in which the surgery took place. Your postings here will also be forwarded to the series author or you may e-mail G. Wayne Miller privately for possible future publication. Thanks for your participation.

Post a Message Diane Smith dejay@cheerful.com Hi, my name is Diane and I live in Norfolk,Virginia. My mom started having heart problems when I was living in Michigan. It totally devasted me. My family and I drove to RI to see her. It was such a difficult time. You see, my mom is my best friend. The thought of always being so far away and not being there if it was her time was more than I could bear. How do you come to grips with the loss of someone so beloved? She pulled thru that heart attack and was told she had alot of different blockages. One as bad as 95%. Well my husband(who's in the Navy was stationed here in Virginia about 4 yrs ago. he had to go out to sea for 6 months so I was here alone with my children. I received a call one day saying mom was in the hospital again. This time it was so much more serious. My brother told me she needed a triple bypass. I was in agony. I had no one here. I screamed, I hollered and I felt totally alone. Thankfully she pulled thru. But because she has so many other health concerns, I live every day thinking I might lose my very best friend in the world. I guess what I want to say is; Love your family every day. Make time for them. We don't know how long we have with them. Don't lose out on your precious time with them because it could be your last chance to let them know how much they mean to you. Delwyn Lufkin Delwyn50@aol.com In 1995, when I was five years old, I first learned by my family physician that I had a heart murmur and that it would eventually need attention. By the time I was 15 in 1965, I had two cardiac catherizations at Rhode Island Hospital. The tests were inconclusive and I was told to go on with my life and wait and see if I had a problem. It wasn't until 1975 that I was told by my family physician that I should have my heart checked again. Dr. David Kitzes of Mariam Hospital performed another catherization. This time, unlike the others, I was told that because of new machine technology, Dr. Kitzes found that I had aortic stenosis, which is a narrowing of the valve passage by build-up of plaque due to the valve being malformed at birth. Dr. Kitzes informed me that I could lead a normal life until I was in my fifties or sixties before I would need corrective surgery. In 1996, I had an echocardiogram and it was determined that my heart was enlarged. My family physician said that I should see a cardiologist. I down played the visit as not being serious after hearing the same thing many times. This time when I entered the office of Jon Lambrecht, I had never met him before. Within a few minutes my whole life was turned around. After asking me about my symptoms, which were fatigue, weakness, asthmatic symptoms, as well as ashen skin color and dizziness, he informed me of how serious my condition was and the only salvation was immediate open-heart surgery to replace the aortic valve. I began to cry as I thought my life was over. Dr. Lambrecht studied my reaction and told me that this condition is repairable and that I don't have a terminal illness. I didn't have a lot of time to think about it. Within 10 days from that visit, I was the recipient of a Meditronic Hall Prosthetic heart valve. the operation was performed by Dr. Robert Indeglia at Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I. on March 20th, 1996. It has been almost 3 years since the surgery and I am doing better than I could have expected. In 1977 my son, Kevin, had been born with Hypoplastic Left-heart Syndrome and only lived for 2 days because heart surgery wasn't performed like today. I am thankful that I lived at a time when medical technology paved the way for a second chance because of my new aortic heart valve. Maurice A. Bouvier moeb440819 I am 68 yrs old & live in Woonsocket R.I. 762-0284 I had a quadruple bypass 9/24/97 by Dr. David Torres at Miriam Hospital. I had a heart attack on 9/18/97 & was treated at Landmark Med Ctr., Woonsocket. On 9/22/97 I was transferred to Miriam for Catheterisation. They found 80-90% blockage in main artery &50-70% in other arteries. Prognosis: Quadruple bypass needed immediately. 9/24 Quadruple bypass by Dr. Torres. Five days later, wound opens on lower sternum. 10/1 Return to O.R. for sternal repair. Four days later sternal wound re-opens. 10/6 Return to O.R. for removal of sternum. 10/10 Return to O.R.for muscle flap reconstruction by Dr. Ronald Zinno--Abdominal muscle used to cover chest where sternum was removed. Spent 4 days in recovery room. In the meantime, I caught a staph infection & pneumonia. Finally, on10/28 transferred to a Nursing Home to learn to walk again. Finally return home 11/7 but must continue taking vancomycin intravenously twice a day until Dec 1. In January,1998, start cardiac rehab to last 3 months. On 5/18, 8 months to the day, return to work at MetLife. Continue exercises 6 days a week & watch my diet. Today I am feeling 100% better with blood pressure 130/70. Henri G. Berthiaume Jeeptime @ aol.com My experiences are actually contrasts. My father, a wonderful, hard working man who died of a fatal heart attack when he was 73 in 1980, has been sorely missed by my siblings and myself. Back then ,though available, open heart surgery or even the word" cholesterol 'was not common place . My father had experienced angina for years, but did little about it. When he died we were all shocked! My father in law had a quadruple by pass about seven years ago. Though he showed no trace of symtoms of a heart condition , other than shortness of breath, his doctor recommended a specialist, who found blockages.He was operated on by Dr Singh and within weeks made a remarkable recovery. He's a wonderful man and terrific t grandfather and husband and continues to thrive well into his seventies. The Miracle of modern medicine. I think of my dad and wonder. If only he had been given that chance. These doctors literally hold the lives of not only their patients but their patients' entire families. Sheila Cahill nyshe1@ProJo.COM My son, Ray, was born on March 25, 1985. Ray seemed to be a perfectly healthy baby, but after a few weeks, he was crying more often and seemed uncomfortable. His pediatrician detected a heart murmur and we were referred to Dr. Patricia Rompf. When we arrived at Dr. Rompf's office, Ray was immediatly admitted to the hospital, suffering from congestive heart failure. The diagnosis was ventricular septal defect, or a hole in the heart. With medication and careful monitoring, we were told that some holes close on their own as the child grows. One month later, when Ray was two months old, he was again admitted in congestive heart failure. At this time, it was decided that a cardiac catherization was needed to assess the size of the hole. When Dr. Rompf discovered that the hole between Ray's ventricals was as large as a quarter, we were told that surgery was the only option. Ray was operated on at Boston Children's Hospital on July 16, 1985. The thoughts of having my baby on a heart lung machine was terrifying, but there was no choice. The surgery was a complete success, the hole was patched, as well as another, smaller hole, and Ray was discharged after 8 days. In no time at all, Ray was a perfectly healthy baby, with no signs of heart problems. Ray is thirteen years old now, and is very active in sports. No one would ever believe what he went through as a baby. He has a very faint scar on his chest as a reminder of how far medical research has come. Years ago, he would have been one of the statistics that we have read about in the journal story. Vivian J. Raposa gvraposa@att.net My brother, Robert Dupre underwent open heart surgery in 1949. He was born a "blue baby" in 1931. Robert was not even able to attend school and was educated at our home in Providence. At 16,when Robert developed a dental problem, he was hospitalized. At that time Dr. Frank Cutts became interested in his case. Robert was referred to Boston's Peter Bent Brigham hospital and had surgery in February of 1949. Surgery included placing a steel plate over the hole in his heart. After surgery, I recall that my brother had to re-learn most of his motor skills much like an infant. For the next ten years Robert was able to live a "normal" life and it was such fun to take him downcity and to watch him ride an esculator for the first time in his life at age 19! In 1960 he started to develop heart problems again and had surgery once more, this time at Rhode Island Hospital. Robert survived the actual operation but died during the night. We were always so grateful for the ten years that he did get to enjoy life. The Providence Journal Bulletin ran a short article about him sometime in 1949. This article was written by a Dorothy Pratt. We still have the original article as well as the picture that appeared in your newspaper. I am currently in Florida until April and read the Journal on the internet. My sister Noella Maynard lives in Providence and alerted me to this article. If you would care to contact her for more information, she has given me permission to supply you with her address & phone number. Thank you for your interest in this important subject. Sincerely, Vivian J. Raposa

Post a Message | Back to the series