It’s Survivor Series Saturday Featuring Quinton Huffman!

🫵We want YOU to be the shining star in someone else's life by sharing your story as a patient, survivor or caregiver.

❤️Whether it's Aortic Valve Disease, Aortic Aneurysms or an Aortic Dissection, your ability to validate another person's experience is not only therapeutic but inspiring.

❤️Help us show others how to Thrive and not just Survive.

𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: Click HERE

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘄: Click HERE

It is our pleasure to share with you this incredible story by Quinton Huffman, who just five months ago, suffered an Aortic Dissection.

Thank you, Quinton, we are honored to have your contribution.

Good evening, 

My name is Quinton Huffman, and I reside in Salisbury, NC.  I am a Battalion Chief for our 911 center, and I am a Lieutenant at my local Fire Department.  I am 33 years old, and I am a survivor of a Type ‘A’ Aortic Dissection.  On the morning of October 6^th, 2025, it started out like any other morning.  I woke up early, took my oldest daughter to the bus stop, and went to the grocery store.  I came home, put the groceries away, and did some light, non-stressful work around the house.  That afternoon, I was sitting on the couch and felt the urge to sneeze. When I sneezed, that's when my life took a turn for the worse.  I immediately felt a pop in my chest and heard the pop.  Also, all at the same time, my arms went completely numb from my shoulders down, my legs went numb from my hips down, my heart rate increased, and my heart was pounding (I tell people it felt like someone was in my chest cavity banging on my chest wall with a hammer).  Me being the stubborn EMT/firefighter I am, I waited 15 minutes before calling someone.  My best friend happened to be working at the Fire Department that day, and I called him to come by the house to check me out.  I fully say that he was the one who saved my life.  After taking my Blood Pressure, he immediately knew something was very wrong and got on the radio to call for EMS.  When I went to stand up to get on the stretcher, I collapsed to the ground because I could no longer feel my legs.  At this time, I was also sweating profusely.  I had to be carried outside and onto the stretcher to be placed into the back of the ambulance.  I spent 5 hours in the ER, while they were trying to diagnose me with a “pinched nerve” in my back.  All while I was having chest pains, cold sweats coming and going, elevated heart rate, heart still pounding, an abnormal EKG, and my troponin levels were climbing.  If it wasn’t for the oncoming nightshift physician, they would have sent me home.   He ordered the CT Angiogram, and that's when they found it.  I was rushed to Wake Forest Baptist Hospital where I underwent Emergency Open-Heart Surgery.  As I was on the way there, I started deteriorating.  Within 20 minutes of arriving at WFBH, I was put under for surgery.  That's when everyone realized how extensive my dissection actually was.  My surgery took a total of 12 hours, and my dissection was 21 centimeters long. On top of that, I had blown out my aortic valve, and it had to be replaced with a mechanical one.  I also had damage to 2 other valves that had to be repaired, and those valves supplied blood to my brain, and they were worried I would suffer from a stroke.  Thank goodness, that didn't happen.  I woke up 2 days later in the Cardiac ICU.  My doctor/surgeon came to see me once I was coherent, and he told me that he had been performing these surgeries for a very long time, and he has never seen someone that had a dissection as extensive as mine.   He told me that they are typically a 24% survivability rate, and mine was a 1% survivability rate.  He said that when it popped, I should have died right then and there.  And to make it almost 7 hours after it all happened, I was a walking miracle.  I went on to spend 2 ½ weeks in Cardiac ICU where I was bedridden, until finally made it to in patient rehab where I spent another 2 ½ weeks learning how to walk again.  It has now been almost 6 months, and I am still working on my strength to be able to do more.  I have a great support system with my parents and my beautiful wife, and some great friends.  I still have a long road ahead of me, but IM A SURVIVOR.