Tom's Cardiology Story

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- [Joan] We were assigned to the same
homeroom, I think.

Weren't we?

- [Tom] Yes, 7201B
Highland Junior High School.

I remember the senior play.

I became Dr. Bradley,
and Joan was working with props.

- I brought one of the prop stand.

I looked up to him and he said,
"I know. I like you, too."

- And we had three children by
the time we were 27.

It was early April.
Just like most people, I cut the grass.

And after a couple of passes,
I was totally out of breath.

So I came and sat down for a few minutes,
got back up, and the same thing happened.

I said, "This is totally unusual."

I'm there in Louisville Cardiology.
They give me the echocardiogram.

I had a valve that was
almost open only to a pinhole.

I was scheduled for May 1st
a heart catheterization,

and Dr. Christopher Semder did that.

And he stood at the
head of my bed afterwards.

He said, "Tom, you've got a golden heart,"
that's the word he used,

"except your aortic valve is a disaster
and it has to come out.

It has to be replaced.

We're going to see if you're ineligible
for a TAVR surgery."

- [Linda] TAVR is just the acronym for
transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

It allows the physicians to replace their
native aortic valve with a tissue valve.

- And my thought was, well, yeah,
we need to deal with this because I've got

a wedding coming up here.

- We have nine grandchildren.
We just have one boy.

- So it became critically important for me
to know whether I was eligible for that

procedure and, if so,
that that procedure could be done

as soon as possible.

- [Dr. Semder] Tom is a gentleman
who had other medical issues

that made him an excellent
candidate for transcatheter

aortic valve replacement.

He recovered very quickly and was out of
the hospital within one to two days.

- With this wedding as the big goal for
us, we were rallying.

We were going to get him back on his feet
and feeling good back to his family so he

could enjoy that wedding.

- Linda was the face of it all.

She has the skill to build trust quickly.
She understands your needs.

She's a real person that you're going to
see and is going to stay with you from the

very first time to the very last time.

And you're never going to be alone.

- I just appreciate so much feeling like a
human being just not another widget.

And this is my husband,
and he is important to me.

- [Dr. Pagni] [inaudible]
his size of incision.

He has to do the experience the patient
had, the management of pain after surgery,

what is the relationship the patients have
with the ancillary service in terms

of nursing staff, coordinators,
social workers, and how at the end,

when the patient go home,
and after a month, they think, "Well,

how was my experience there?"

- The best thing that gave me confidence
was that there was a team of doctors.

- We're at the forefront of new
technologies and new procedures.

I think that this procedure especially
really allows for a dramatic improvement

in symptoms but also in what these
patients are able to do at home.

- They have the staff there not only to do
it medically but they have the staff there

to make it feel really okay.

You think of yourself, you know,
where you were helpless just trying to get

a breath, you know, after doing a mild
task of some sort and then all of a sudden

you're able to be well enough to not only
enjoy this special event with them

but to be there in person
and be engaged and holding them,

sharing their moment together,
that was everything.

The thing I like about Baptist is,
"Mission Impossible.

Here we go. Let's make it happen."

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