My name is Robert Stewart, and here is my story:
In November 2021 I celebrated my 67th birthday – Yea!!!
During my last hospital stay this past May, I found out about Aortic Hope. My doctor thought I needed someone to talk to (other than my wonderful wife) about all the things I have been through. He felt I had a form of PTSD. So, he informed me about your organization. Thus, I am writing not just for myself, but also to see if others might find hope through my story.
Though it was not something I ever thought much about, there were a few times I believed I would not make it this far. My medical history is definitely one for the books. I have been told I am amazing, a cat with more than nine lives, the bionic man, and many other things. Truth is, I am just an average guy who has been very fortunate as a result of my chosen lifestyle, and with the lord’s blessings.
It is not that I have lived a bad life style. I have never smoked, never done drugs, and really do not drink hardly at all. I am just a true Alpha-type personality. I work hard and play hard. I push my body physically to its limits. Maybe that is why I have had some of the health issues I have had. Hmmm, something to think about.
The extent of my somewhat amazing medical history is summarized in the list below:
1993 1st Aortic Valve Repair
2002 Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
2008 2nd AVR
2008 Complete Heart Block (Pacemaker)
2016 Car Accident
2018 Prostate Cancer
2018 2nd pacemaker
2020 Type A Dissection (3rd AVR, Root and Ascending Aneurysm repair)
2021 Type B Dissection medically treated
2021 Covid with double pneumonia
There is a lot I could talk about and share, which I am willing and happy to do. Through all of this I never gave up hope. My wife and ultimately all the doctor’s realized that I was quite resilient and would normally recover very quickly from most of my procedures. As a matter of fact, I have always gone on living my life just as I had prior to each event with virtually no changes to my life style. That was up until the TBAD that occurred in May, 2021. Because the TBAD was not able to be repaired, I have had to finally make some life style changes – in other words, I had to stop physically abusing my body. If, at some time in the future surgery becomes an option for my case, I will happily go through it. But in the meantime – it is diet, controlling my blood pressure, and no more acting like Ironman!