Father awakes new man after heart treatment at Mercy Gilbert
My name is Gale and I was never seriously sick or in a hospital until I had a major heart attack at age 60. That led to bypass surgery and having a defibrillator implanted a year later. The incident limited my physical abilities by about 50 percent.
Then 12 years later, in 2009, I had a second heart attack and was further debilitated. Shortly thereafter, a friend told me about new cardiovascular research being conducted at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and suggested I see Dr. Nabil Dib, the medical center’s Director of Cardiovascular Research.
That was the beginning of a very fascinating personal journey for me. I knew little about what was wrong with my heart and how serious my condition was but I had no idea what was available and what was being done through science and research.
I qualified to be a research volunteer in a clinical trial Dr. Dib was conducting using adult stem cells to repair damaged heart tissue. Because it is a blind study, I don’t know if I actually received an adult stem cell transplant or a placebo.
Whether it’s psychological or the adult stem cells are working to renew my heart muscle or something else entirely, I don’t know; I just know how I feel. I have a robust lifestyle and am able to do everything I want to do. I’m very, very happy with my physical condition.
Because of the care that I received at Mercy Gilbert, I decided to become more involved in the hospital’s programs and services. I recently joined Dignity Health Foundation East Valley’s Board of Directors to help raise funds and support for the medical center and its research programs.
During my first appointment, Dr. Dib spent three hours educating me about the heart and how it functions, and what science is doing to help resolve some of the world’s cardiovascular problems. I was awed by the science, and even more impressed by the attitudes and the care of everybody at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.
It’s a whole different experience of medical treatment. They walk the talk about charity, kindness and healing. We have something very precious right here in the East Valley, and we need to embrace it.
