Saint Joseph Mends Hearts of Husband, Wife
In between meetings, ministry work, travel and social activities, Elizabeth Arrott and her husband, Bill, go to cardiac rehabilitation at Saint Joseph Hospital three times a week.
Six years ago, Elizabeth never imagined that she and Bill would have heart surgery within 13 months of one another. Or, that they both would continue for years with cardiac rehab (exercise, education and support) to stay heart healthy.
“Saint Joseph Hospital is everything a hospital could possibly be and much more,” said Arrott, a 77-year-old nationally published author whose days are filled with activities from morning to night.
Elizabeth was the first to experience medical problems in 2003. After dining out, she came home and was short of breath and feeling distressed, so she went to Saint Joseph’s E.R. The couple lives in Lake View, but it was her first visit to the hospital.
Everything checked out fine, but Arrott stayed overnight at the hospital. The following day she had an echocardiogram, a test that records the heart’s electrical activity and documents heart rhythm.
The test revealed she had a myxoma, a tumor in the left atrium of her heart. Myxomas generally grow in the form of little mushrooms. They are benign, but pieces characteristically break off and go directly into the blood stream, where they frequently cause strokes, and even death. Arrott’s tumor was extremely large, indicating it had been there for years, and it had even grown roots deep into her septum, which divides the left and right half of the heart.
Two days later, she had surgery. Robert Breyer, M.D., section chief, cardiac surgery, and William Bradshaw, M.D., cardiovascular thoracic surgeon, performed the 5 1/2-hour procedure – removing the tumor and, three days later, inserting a pacemaker. She spent five days in the hospital and was amazed at the care she received.
“Everyone was very upbeat and positive,” said Arrott, noting the hospital staff was totally focused on the patient.
She had such a positive experience at Saint Joseph that she had all her medical records transferred from another hospital.
About a year later, Bill went to Saint Joseph’s E.R. with chest pains. After an array of tests, Dr. Bradshaw walked into the waiting room to talk to her.“Do you remember me?” he said.
“Yes, and I know why you’re here,” said Arrott, who serves as co-pastor with her husband at a suburban church.
Bill, now 83, had blocked arteries, and he needed triple bypass surgery, a procedure that involves using blood vessels from the leg, arm and chest wall to bypass blocked arteries and restore adequate blood flow to the heart muscle.
“He went though it with flying colors,” Arrott said. “It was a total success – everything turned out fine. One reason he had so little concern about his own surgery was because he saw me through my whole experience and saw how well it went for me.”