Thanking the man who saved my life.

That's not hyperbole.

He was a Urology PA.  Emily tracked him down for me through Facebook.  He contacted me, and this is the email I sent him.  It tells the entire story.  It is something I have been wanting to do for several years.  But I had no luck finding him.  I feel a sense of closure being able to thank him, and he deserves to know how much he made a difference to so many people.

Hello:

I have been trying to track you down for awhile now for one reason:

You may have saved my life.  And I and all of my family want you to know this.

I will tell you the details.

I saw you in the Urology clinic.  After you completed your exam, about 6 years or so ago, you said something to the effect of that you always like to do a mini-physical at these exams even though, strictly speaking, you were “not supposed to.”

But it felt right to you, so you did it.

You heard a heart murmur.  I didn’t know I had any heart issues.

So I followed up with a cardiologist, and within three years was having open heart surgery.  Just before the surgery, I had an angiogram, and the doctor rushed into the room to talk with us.  He was quite frightened for me.  He said my ascending aorta was ready to explode, and the first symptom I would have that I had a heart problem would be to die.

Two days later, open heart surgery.  I have healed just fine.  New aorta, and a bovine valve.  We are still going strong, enjoying life. Hiking, cycling, dancing, swimming, the whole shebang.  

But there is another, critical part to this story.  After seeing you, I continued my care with my primary care doctor.  Internal medicine. Had two of them subsequent to your visit.  I told both of them that I had a heart murmur and asked them to listen to my heart.  Both of them were honest.  Both said they could not hear the heart murmur even after I told them I had one.

So there it is.  Without your going to the extra effort at a Urology exam, I would have never known I needed to see a cardiologist because the physicians I was seeing simply could not hear anything that was amiss.  And, my first knowledge of a heart problem would have been to die.

These years later now you have not been forgotten by us.  That extra step.  Without it?  I wouldn’t be writing you this email.

Since that time I have wanted to tell you, to thank you.  But also to let you know that you made a real difference in several peoples’ lives.  All of my family, my wife, my grandchildren.  Me.

With great respect, and gratitude.

Dan, Vicky and all of the rest of the Graybills