Patient’s Share Stories of Survival After Experiencing Life-Threatening Heart Events
The following stories are stories of survival. These patients came to University Hospitals for help when the unthinkable happened to them; many of them had no idea that they were even at risk for a heart disease. Find out about the symptoms these patients experienced, and about the life-saving treatment they received through UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute that led them down the road to recovery.
Albert's Story
Vein Bypass Surgery Helps an Active 81-Year-Old Enjoy a Pain-Free Life Again
John's Story
When 57 year old John Woloszyn decided to indulge a spontaneous craving for BBQ, he had no idea that his choice of restaurant would save his life.
Richard's Story
Richard Mack was outside raking leaves when he started experiencing severe chest pain. At the ER, doctors determined that he was having a heart attack and the UH Shock Team was called into action.
Amy's Story
Amy Byrnes had a busy couple of days in August of 2014. She flew in from California to Cleveland to attend a family reunion with her sister.
Anthony's Story
Anthony Galas, single and scared, was looking for revival after surrendering his independence and livelihood to survive a heart transplant.
Bobby's Story
Bobby Shea died five times on the way to the hospital. But University Hospitals Parma Medical Center and Brooklyn EMS weren't going to let him go without a fight
Cheri's Story
That Monday night in September 2016 started like any other for Twinsburg resident Cheri Eyink, uneventful, routine. Suddenly, a crushing pain across her back, from armpit to armpit, drove her to the bedroom floor and changed her life.
Christine's Story
On the morning of August 7, Christine Pepoy picked up three friends and began driving to a golf outing at Pleasant Hill Golf Course in Chardon. At one point their conversation turned to guardian angels.
Charlotte's Story
Charlotte Chambliss never wondered why she was tired and occasionally short of breath – the reasons seemed obvious. She was 55 years old, a full-time cosmetologist who helped care for her elderly mother. Yes, she was a former smoker. But she’d...
Dan's Story
Many factors can determine a person's outcome after suffering a heart-related medical event - age, family history, and of course, the severity and type of heart event that occurs. But for Dan Steinbrenner, it was where he went into cardiac arrest,...
Dana's Story
Dana Morris is a new kind of patient. She is an onco-cardiology patient; one who is being treated for both cancer and heart issues. Certainly, many patients have faced both these issues in the past, but the specific field of onco-cardiology - and...
Dave and Charlene’s Story
How one UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute physician helped a family heal after loss. Modern medicine is truly amazing. But even with today’s technology, in some cases, all that physicians can do is offer compassion to patients’ families...
Donna's Story
Donna Bentley, of North Olmsted, was aware of her heart murmur for most of her adult life; her primary care physician discovered it years ago during a routine physical. Donna's mother had cardiovascular disease, including an enlarged heart, so she...
Helen's Story
Short of breath while walking into her doctor's office at University Hospitals Parma Medical Center, the grandmother of five was expecting bad news. At 89, the widow knew she couldn't undergo the lengthy recovery of open heart surgery, which her...
Henrietta's Story
Henrietta Henderson changed her life after suffering a massive heart attack.
Jeff's Story
On the morning of October 2, 2017, Jeff Colvin awoke with pain in his chest. The long-haul driver from Alabama had spent the night in his 18-wheel semi tractor-trailer at an Austinburg, Ohio truck stop before heading out for another full day on...
Jim's Story
On February 2016, Jim Burry visited Argentina and hiked in the Andes Mountains. In just one day, the 76-year-old from Cleveland Heights hiked 10 miles - on an incline the equivalent of 80 floors - and recorded 30,000 steps.
Kara's Story
Kara King, 33, of Fostoria, Ohio, was born with cystic fibrosis, a chronic disease that affects every organ in the body. But it wasn't until 2004 when she gave birth to her son Draven, whom she refers to as a blessing, that the disease began to...
LaBryan's Story
This spring, 46-year-old LaBryan Swain of Elyria was experiencing excruciating pain that disrupted his life to the point that he could barely move.
Larry's Story
On June, 2016, 68-year-old Larry Sekula's heart was no longer able to pump the blood his body required.
Lauren's Story
When 28-year-old Lauren Arnold experienced sporadic episodes of heart palpitations and neck pain, she did what most of us do – rested for a couple of minutes until it went away.
Liz's Story
It was Mother's Day 2014, and Gary Wagner was doing some yard work. "I came in because I was not feeling well," Gary recalls. "I had lot of back pain. I went upstairs in the bathroom to get into the Jacuzzi. Liz heard me fall."
Megan's Story
Megan Roberts was in her second day back to work at Cline Plumbing after seven weeks off with her newborn son, her third child. "I had chest pains," she recalls of the September Day back in 2015, "and my boss took me to the local ER."
Mike's Story
Mike DeWalt squeezed his wife’s hand one last time before he died. There wasn’t much time left – everything was going dark.
Mike Webster's Story
When Mike Webster's daughter, Wendy Yeary, suggested that he have a cardiac computed tomography (CT) imaging test for coronary artery calcium scoring, he thought it would be a waste of time.
Patricia's Story
At 71, Patricia Weldon was going strong, enjoying retirement, her hobbies and socializing with friends. Until one day her right leg started to swell.
Raheem's Story
Seconds before going into cardiac arrest after a basketball game with friends at Case Western Reserve University, Raheem Stanfield told a friend he might need an ambulance.
Read Family Story
In 1976, 52-year-old Louise Read came to cardiologist Michel Farah, MD for treatment for congestive heart failure. This was the start of a case that Dr. Farah has followed for 42 years and counting.
Rose's Story
Rose Booth developed an abdominal aortic aneurysm and had been living with it since 2000.
Ruth's Story
Ruth Wright went into heart failure on the morning of her daughter's wedding in June of 2015. "I woke up and I couldn't breathe," she remembers.
Sarah's Story
Sarah Seals knew something wasn't quite right. Climbing stairs was leaving her winded, she was getting tired when she walked a lot and she wasn't resting as well as she used to.