When Jerry went into the hospital for a heart catheterization, his wife, Raquel, thought he was just having a simple test.
They’d driven 5 hours to the Atlanta V.A. Medical Center from their home in Screven, Georgia, to see Dr. Gautam Kumar, because Jerry was having discomfort in his chest and shortness of breath. Still, his condition didn’t seem serious.
Raquel was in the waiting room, just preparing to go to the cafeteria for breakfast when Dr. Kumar came into the waiting room and told her Jerry had a severe blockage in his heart. They needed to treat him right away.
“He said, ‘this is really bad, Raquel,’” she remembers. “The doctor said the blockage in the artery was known as the ‘widow maker’. I sat back down and our whole life flashed before me.”
Jerry and Raquel had been married 47 years. They’d started dating when she was in high school, even though Jerry was older. In 1967, Jerry went to Vietnam where he served in an Army platoon of 582 men; he was one of only 32 who made it back. The couple got married right away when he returned home.
After serving in the Army, Jerry worked for nearly 40 years as a millwright. He also served as a county commissioner.
He had a mild stroke in 2004 during rotator cuff surgery, but even that didn’t slow him down.
Now, Raquel was terrified. Jerry’s father and three uncles had all died young, of heart problems. So she told Dr. Kumar to do whatever he needed to do to help her husband. The doctor said he planned to use a special kind of sanding “tool” to help clear the calcium from the arteries in Jerry’s heart and place a stent.
That tool was a medical device called the Diamondback 360® Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System.
Jerry was awake, under light sedation, throughout the procedure. Later, he told Raquel that he started breathing better the moment that it was done. When she saw him, in the recovery room, she was amazed to see that his natural color had returned.
After the first procedure, Dr. Kumar informed Jerry and his wife that they would need to come back later that month to have a blockage in another area of his heart cleared.
Jerry and Raquel both noticed his energy and mood improved even more after the second procedure which also included the Diamondback 360® System.
Raquel says she is grateful that Jerry didn’t need open heart surgery, which requires a much longer recovery time.
“This device is the best technology we’ve ever heard of!” she said. “God has been good with blessing us with someone like Dr. Kumar and his ability with this life-saving device.”
Today, Jerry is back to work as a county commissioner. In his free time, he enjoys going saltwater fishing and working in their yard. Jerry and Raquel say life is better than ever.
Diamondback 360®, along with stent placement, helped Jerry get back to doing what he loves and living a fulfilling life.
Results may vary.
The accounts given are genuine and documented. Each story represents a unique individual experience and does not provide any indication, guide, warranty or guarantee as to the response other people may have to CSI technologies.
