| Blame it on Bo.
Well, not really, but Tom Gretter will never forget Bo Schembechler, the late, fiery Michigan football coach. It was 1985 and the #1 rated Iowa Hawkeyes were battling the #2 Wolverines in a nationally telecast showdown at Kinnick Stadium.
Schembechler lost his cool on the field, causing Gretter-a passionate Hawkeye fan sitting in the stands- to do the same. In fact, Gretter got so worked up he suffered a heart attack. Even worse, he ignored the symptoms and left the stadium to take a nap.
"I didn't see a doctor for two weeks," he says.
It was not only Gretter's first heart attack, it was also the beginning of an unfortunate pattern. Instead of adopting a more healthy lifestyle, Gretter continued to huff and puff his way through a stressful life focused on the family's auto dealership.
If he got tired, which was often, he'd take a nap.
Gretter's indifference finally caught up with him at the Denver airport. As his wife, Paulette, rushed to catch a connecting flight, he lagged behind, stopping frequently just to catch his breath.
It was the last straw for Paulette, who insisted he see a doctor. After an initial evaluation, his family physician sent him to Mercy (Iowa City) cardiologist Stephan Schomer, MD.
Schomer determined that Gretter's heart was failing-badly-and referred him to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. There, a team of UI Heart and Vascular Center specialists led by Barry Cabuay, MD, Sara Vance, RN, CCTC, told Gretter he needed a heart transplant.
"I was stunned," he says.
Still, there was little choice. Without a new heart, there was virtually no hope.
"Let's just say I got my house in order," says Gretter, noting he knew from the outset he was in good hands. While waiting for a donor heart, for instance, he was assigned a primary heart failure/transplant cardiologist and nurse coordinator.
This transplant team monitored his medical condition and was prepared to provide advanced heart failure therapies aimed at bridging the patient to transplant, if necessary.
Nearly two years passed before the long-awaited call came on May 21, 2006.
"I had almost given up," Gretter admits, noting that the call was so unexpected he was home alone and had to drive himself to the hospital.
The transplant procedure went well and family members quickly gathered to offer their support. For his part, Gretter did all the right things after the transplant. He began walking three miles a day and lost 70 pounds in the process.
Today, he's amazed at how good he feels. "This is the best I've felt in 20 years!" he says.
Gretter can't say enough about his health care team, including "all the kids in the cardiac catheterization lab," his nurses and therapists, the heart transplant doctors and support staff, cardiologists Cabuay and John Chase, MD, and other health care professionals.
"Everyone has been fantastic," he says. "I feel truly blessed."
For more information about heart transplantation at UI Hospitals and Clinics, patients and family members should:
Call UI Health Access or 319-356-1028 and ask for the Cardiomyopathy Treatment Program
Visit www.uihealthcare.com, click on Heart Health, and choose Cardiac Transplant program For consultation or referral, physicians should call UI Consult.
UI heart transplant history
- First adult heart transplant in 1985
- First pediatric transplant in 1987
- 228 transplants to date
Heart transplant process
- Thorough evaluation by UI heart specialists
- Placement on heart transplant waiting list
- Donor heart, when available, assigned by non-profit agency
- Transplant operation
- Post-transplant clinic visits, counseling, drug therapy
-Michael Sondergard
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