Patient Success Stories Find a Location Find a Doctor Heart & Vascular Advanced Heart Failure Management Center Arrhythmia Center Diagnostic Testing Treatments/Procedures Cardiology Heart Attack Care Minimally Invasive Procedures Cardio-Oncology Cardiac Rehab Clinical Research Diagnostic Services Heart Surgery Florence Wormald Heart & Vascular Institute Building Patient Success Stories Prevention & Wellness AHA Training Center CardioVascular Mobile Health Unit Hands-only CPR Healing Hearts Women's Support Group Health Disparities and Cardiovascular Disease Heart Healthy Lifestyle Tips My Heart Rocks Women and Heart Disease Tobacco Cessation Freedom from Smoking Nicotine Medication Nicotine Replacement Tobacco Cessation Therapy Success Stories Tobacco Cessation Resources Youth E-cigarette and Vaping Epidemic Structural Heart & Valve Center Aortic Valve Replacement Mitral Valve Surgery Your Hospital Stay Care After Heart Surgery Intensive Care for Heart Conditions Nurses with Heart Care Expertise Transitional Care Units Hear From Our Patients To learn more about specific patient experiences, begin by clicking on the service you are interested in. Advanced Heart Failure Kenny Moore Kenny Moore’s progressing heart failure was leading to failing health. An implanted mechanical heart pump allowed him to become more active yet keep his own heart. Kenny's Story Larry Myrick For 41-year-old Maysville resident Larry Myrick, the Florence Wormald Heart & Vascular Institute at St. Elizabeth has dramatically improved – and likely saved – his life. In 2017, Larry was having difficulty breathing. His primary care physician diagnosed him with pneumonia, but Larry wasn’t convinced that was the source of his symptoms. The next day he saw a cardiologist in Maysville who told Larry life-changing news: he was in advanced heart failure. Larry's Story Arrhythmia Shareen Cox A few years after retiring, Shareen began having frequent occurrences of feeling tired and not being able to catch her breath. SHAREEN'S STORY Eric Kirchner As an Air Force pilot and now commercial aviation pilot, Eric Kirchner needs to be healthy, alert and ready to fly people around the globe. ERIC'S STORY Matt Richard The drama started on a Thursday morning for Matt and Krissy Richard. When Matt walked downstairs, Krissy quickly realized something was very wrong. MATT'S STORY Marianne Long “I was having trouble breathing and I felt tired and weak,” Marianne says. “I had to push myself to do things, even simple, everyday things.” MARIANNE'S STORY Kendall High One day severe pain in her calf sent Kendall to an ER. That’s when she heard three words she never expected: “It’s your heart.” KENDALL'S STORY Norma Benson At age 79, Norma Benson was living an active life. But sudden, severe dizzy spells attacked out of nowhere and stopped her in her tracks. NORMA'S STORY Marlene Patrick Marlene thought her heart problems were insurmountable. “I had terrible tiredness. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even eat.” MARLENE'S STORY Bill Thomason A round of golf, a game of cards and the chance to enjoy life were top of mind for Bill when doctors told him he needed a pacemaker. BILL'S STORY Jackie Brantley A healthy former athlete, Jackie was a hard-driving type-A business executive when everything in his world came to an abrupt halt. JACKIE'S STORY Cardiology Linda Schwartz At 74 years old, Linda Schwartz believes staying healthy should be a top priority. She also understands that to achieve that, she must maintain a good relationship with her doctors and have regular health screenings. LINDA'S STORY Jeff Carr “There was no warning, no nothing,” Karen Carr recalls of the December evening her husband’s heart stopped beating. Jeff Carr, a tall, lean construction worker at age 52, felt uncomfortable on the couch and decided to go upstairs to lie down. JEFF'S STORY Dennis Dalton At 43 years old, Dennis Dalton doesn’t let much slow him down - not even a heart attack. Dennis' Story Philip Dietz When he was having the classic heart attack symptoms - he ignored them. At only 39, Phil felt it was too early to start worrying about a heart attack, even though he has a history of heart disease in his family. Philip's Story Kelly Garrett When Kelly Garrett felt a small lump in her breast, the fear she felt was so intense she couldn’t bring herself to talk about it. For more than a year, she worried in silence, feeling the mass steadily grow. Kelly's Story Karen Lugo The pressure between her shoulder blades would not let up. And when Karen, who is always cold, started sweating, her son called 911. KAREN'S STORY Glenna Maxwell On the night before her 40th birthday bash, Glenna learned that she was lucky to be alive; she had a heart defect and it needed to be repaired right away. GLENNA'S STORY James McNutt As he mowed his lawn in Independence, Kentucky, James felt chest pain. At first, he thought it was indigestion from hot dogs he ate for lunch, but the pain grew unbearable. He started to sweat, and a dip in the pool and a cold shower didn’t cool him down. JAMES' STORY Ray Webster Ray collapsed from a heart attack on the way to his car after finishing a 12-hour shift as a forklift driver. RAY'S STORY Clinical Research Terry Arlinghaus Terry Arlinghaus’ doctor told him he was a walking time bomb. And he didn't even know it. TERRY'S STORY Heart & Lung Surgery Kathy Shepherd When Kathy Shepherd learned her heart was in trouble, her first reaction was disbelief. KATHY'S STORY Susan Cox Susan Cox did the unthinkable—she drove herself to the hospital, even though she thought she could be having a heart attack. SUSAN'S STORY Mary Hoffmeister One night, as Mary Hoffmeister was getting ready for bed, she took off her socks and saw something that caught her completely off guard. MARY'S STORY Ralph Bamberger Ralph was getting ready to head upstairs to bed after an active day when he called upstairs to his wife to say he was really not feeling well, and that he was calling 911. Then he collapsed. RALPH'S STORY Jeff Bolte Jeff matter-of-factly shared his health history – cardiac issues are a family problem – until he described the doctors and the nurses who cared for him. Then, he ramped it up. “Incredible,” Jeff said emphatically. JEFF'S STORY Melissa Jennings On September 25, Melissa had an angiogram and found out that her bypass from 20 years ago was failing. She cried. MELISSA'S STORY Joe Koester Joe lived with a heart murmur for 40 years because he was born with a heart defect. JOE'S STORY Prevention & Wellness Mike Adams With a long history of driving a dump truck and farming on the side, Mike Adams knows the meaning of hard work. That’s why he became worried at age 46 when he was too weak to change a tire on his truck – something his 12-year-old son did with no problem. Mike's Story Jessica Brungs Taking that first step to quit smoking is the hardest part for many people. For St. Elizabeth Healthcare Nurse Jessica Brungs, it was a step she knew that she needed to take – and the Smoking Cessation program was just the thing to help her take it. JESSICA'S STORY Teresa Cecil A pack-a-day smoker for many years, Teresa Cecil celebrates a monumental milestone: eight years smoke-free. TERESA'S STORY Bev & Hugh Dayton Weight down. Cholesterol levels down. Cardiac ages improved by more than a decade. Those are the health benefits Hugh and Bev Dayton credit to St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s “Take Time for Your Heart Class.” BEV & HUGH'S STORY Denise Fetters Denise participated in two Smoking Cessation classes and had her last cigarette the day before her second heart attack. She plans on attending another session, she says, and adds: “I’m going to be a spokesperson for them.” DENISE'S STORY Joyce Jacobs Joyce Jacobs knows heart health, inside and out. As a Heart and Vascular Prevention and Wellness Nurse Navigator at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Joyce works with cardiac patients with the CardioVascular Mobile Health Unit (CVMHU) team for the last eight years. At age 59, Joyce decided to make an appointment at the CVMHU to check on her own heart health. As an avid exerciser and healthy eater, Joyce wasn’t expecting the technician to find anything on her screening. What she learned came as a surprise. Joyce's Story Jan Keller A diabetic, Jan cut her triglycerides by half and her husband lost 13 pounds when she put into practice everything she learned at St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s 10-week course, “Take Time for Your Heart.” JAN'S STORY Dave Klaber It was a hot, Saturday afternoon in August as Dave, a volunteer firefighter, drove swiftly to a Pendleton County farm where hundreds of hay bales had caught fire. As he began filling a water truck to take into the fields, he felt a sharp pain between his shoulder blades. DAVE'S STORY Bob Knox Bob Knox hadn’t smoked a cigarette for more than eight years. But in April 2015, a phone call telling him that his beloved older brother had died suddenly pushed him to seek out the comfort of a cigarette. Bob's Story Karen Lugo The pressure between her shoulder blades would not let up. And when Karen, who is always cold, started sweating, her son called 911. KAREN'S STORY Jackie Newton Jackie, a two-time cancer survivor, keeps her weight in check and works out regularly. But at age 78, she figured there was still more she could do. St. Elizabeth's “Take Time for Your Heart” class was just the ticket. JACKIE'S STORY Ray Webster Ray collapsed from a heart attack on the way to his car after finishing a 12-hour shift as a forklift driver. RAY'S STORY Structural Heart & Valve Center Ken Foltz When Ken Foltz found out he needed mitral valve repair, he figured he would need a traditional open-heart procedure and a long recovery. But thanks to the minimally invasive expertise at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, he was able to get back to doing what he loves within a few weeks of his diagnosis. Ken's Story Roy "Bud" Smith At the age of 90, Roy “Bud” Smith still had a lot of living to do. But with a failing heart valve, his options were limited until he learned about TAVR – a minimally invasive approach to valve replacement. Now 97, Bud was one of St. Elizabeth’s first TAVR patients. Bud's Story Susan Stahl As Susan Stahl woke up from hernia repair surgery last February – just before the coronavirus escalated – she had a strange feeling. And it wasn’t just her anesthesia wearing off. “I felt like I had a big cement block on my chest,” remembers Susan. “It really hurt.” Susan's Story Ruby Denny Ruby Denny will never forget what happened to her one night in early March, just before the COVID-19 pandemic escalated. She was lying in bed, ready to fall asleep, and suddenly, she had a horrible feeling in her chest. RUBY'S STORY Raymond Scheller One day, 87-year-old Raymond Scheller realized that he could not walk to his own mailbox in Villa Hills without panting and running out of breath. After his TAVR procedure he was out of the hospital in two days and is back to enjoying life. RAYMOND'S STORY Vicki Rankin Vicki was having trouble breathing. She thought it was asthma, but her primary care physician wasn't so sure. VICKI'S STORY Vascular Bob Mohalski When he woke up in the middle of the night with a racing heart, Bob thought he was having an asthma attack. BOB'S STORY