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Bill Harper underwent 14-hour surgery to repair an aorta stretched to over double its normal size. One doctor told Bill he had won the lottery after Acoincidence saved Bill Harper’s life. In 2003, he visited his family doctor be- cause he found that his heart would race for sever! minutes before settling down again. angiograms and eco-cardiograms, Bill was told that his heart doubled its pace due to an echo-effect from an enlarged por- tion of his heart. What tests revealed was a stretching of the aorta to approximately one and one half times its normal size. Dr. Bonneau, a surgeon at St. Michael's hospital in Toronto advised Bill that the problem would need to be rectified sooner or later. “Later would be prime snowmobiling tim explains Bill. “So the doctor said how about next Tuesday?” Needless to say, Bill’s surgery was scheduled in less than two weeks. “I have nothing but good to say about all of the staff at St. Mike’s,” says Bill and his wife, Shay concurs. 14-hour surgery The 14hour surgery was successful re- pairing the extremely thin backside of Bill’s aorta. “The doctor told me I'd won the lottery because they caught it before an emergency happened,” quips Bill. “The toughest things were not fighting the breathing tube, watching the doctor pull what looked like two car wires out of my chest and sleeping once I got home,” Bill explains. After five or six days in the hospital, Bill was discharged. He found that he could only eat small amounts of food without impeding his breathing and didn’t regain his appetite for about a month. During that time he lost about 13 Ibs. of fluid in one day! “I sometimes get a little dizzy feeling in the evenings, but that’s the only legacy,” says Bill. As long as he can see the snow fly and be ac- tive with the Snowmobile Club, Bill feels his journey was worthwhile. By Barbara Hunt High Continued from page 7 really great and was up walking the halls al- most immediately,” he recalls. Happy to be back home in time for Christ- mas 2006, he continued to enjoy his good health. It wasn’t until six months later, while he and Donna were walking into town that the symptoms returned and he had to sit down and rest. “] felt extremely weak,” he recalled. Returning home, Donna immediately called Dr. Nasser-Sharif, of the Medical Asso- ciates, the physician who had treated Glenn earlier. After undergoing a few tests, the doc- tor informed Glenn he would have to go back to St. Mike’s Hospital for further testing. In July 2007 he found himself being put through the same battery of tests he’d un- dergone just six months earlier. “This time I knew something wasn’t quite right,” Glenn said, recalling seeing a number of doctors quietly conferring about his case. n came the news he would have to undergo heart bypass surgery, and only five days later he was laying face-up in the oper- ating room undergoing a five hour bypass operation. As if this wasn’t enough stress on Glenn and the family, he took a turn for the worse during the surgery when doctors encoun- tered a number of complications. He was confined to the I.C.U. for five days under the watchful eyes of doctors and nurses. “One night was very scar’ plications with his kidney and heart valves,” website: www.focusonscugog.com *FOCUS. FEB.2008.indd 9 for doctors Donna says with emotion. Glenn spent another seven days in recov- ery before being put ona stringent rehabilita- tion program. Finally in August 2007 he was released and now continues with the rehab program at the Scugog Community Centre every Tuesday. The program provides seminars, taking of blood pressure and exercise. Glenn, like most heart bypass patients, now walks at least two miles every day. Sometimes this is done inside the Scugog Arena or when weather permits outside. Looking back at the entire experience, the Van Camps have nothing but good to say about the doctors and nurses in both Port Perry and Toronto. “We often hear negative comments about our medical system, but we couldn’t have asked for better care,” Donna said. “The nurses were so caring and just couldn’t do enough for us.” Both Glenn and Donna also credit their family for helping them through the trying ordeal. Every member of the family visited Glenn while he was in hospital, raising his spirits when needed. The biggest surprise was when their granddaughter Emily, (who stars in the tel- evision series Brothers and Sisters) flew home from Los Angeles to be by her grand- fathers bedside. Six months after the operation, Glenn is slowly getting back to work, clearing snow from driveways for his son Bill. and nurses “] feel really good now,” he says. Since the surgery there are a lot of peo- ple keeping an eye on the popular father and grandfather, to make sure he doesn’t over- exert himself too soon. But that’s a difficult job when Glenn has been used to working hard his entire life... and now he’s feeling like a kid again. by J. Peter Hvidsten Focus on Scugog Fortunate to have our health care Continued from page 7 my chest,” says Malcol was immediately “enrolled into the satellite cardio-rehab program operated by Lakeridge Health at the Port Perry Com- munity Centre every Tuesday morning. Ap- proximately 50 to 60 people participate un- der the care of two co-ordinators. Although he will ‘graduate’ in the spring, Malcolm may remain with the group for support. “That and use the treadmill that I bought four years ago on a daily basis with the TV on and some ‘Dire Straights’ music in my ears!” says Malcolm with a quick wink. “We are just so damn fortunate with our health- care here,” he adds. “You only notice when something big happens.” By Barbara Hunt Focus on Scugog FOCUS - FEBRUARY 2008 9 vase 1107050 |