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Tonya Garcia, of Bronx, NY never thought
that a fever she fought 30 years ago would
lead to multiple open heart surgeries. As a child, Tonya grew up in Guatemala, without the conveniences of modern medicine. At age 7,
she had contracted Rheumatic Fever, which begins as a simple strep throat from a streptococcal infection. Left untreated, this infection can lead to heart damage—and so was the case with Tonya. She was soon diagnosed with Rheumatic Heart Disease and her aortic valve was very badly damaged.
In 1990, at the age of 19, she had her aortic valve replaced at a local hospital, hoping that would be the end of her troubles. However, seventeen years later this replacement valve was showing signs of ageing and Tonya found herself in a medical emergency. After a series of tests, it was discovered that Tonya’s valve was severely leaking. The situation was serious. Not only did the valve need to be replaced by open heart surgery, but Tonya’s blood count was dropping tremendously. A normal hemoglobin count for a female is approximately 12-16 gm/dL—Tonya’s was teetering around 8.
As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Tonya knew
she couldn’t just go to any cardiac surgeon
for this complicated, and potentially life-threatening, surgery. She believes that God’s Word, the Bible, indicates that it is wrong to take a blood transfusion. Her team of doctors at the time tried to find a surgeon who would comply with her desire to have the surgery free of blood transfusions, but to no avail. Time was running out and Tonya needed to do her own research and make a quick decision.
Thankfully, a friend from a local congregation of
Jehovah’s Witnesses told Tonya about the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and
its dedication to its patients—no matter their religious beliefs.
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 She learned that Englewood Hospital had a 100% patient survival rate for standard Coronary Bypass Surgery and had years of experience in bloodless care. Tonya knew this was an answer to her prayers.
She immediately contacted The New Jersey Institute for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and was directed to James Klein, MD, Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Not only was he willing to take on her high-risk surgery, he was also confident in a positive outcome.
“He explained everything to me and was very clear. He promised to respect my religion,” explains Tonya. “My first surgery 17 years ago was a bad experience. They didn’t treat me like that at Englewood.” Dr. Klein’s first job was to raise Tonya’s hemoglobin to a safe level for surgery.
Tonya was put on a regimen of Erythropoietin shots, a medication that works in part by stimulating bone marrow to make more red blood cells. Soon Tonya’s blood count rose to 15.4 gm/dL. There was nothing holding the surgical team back now and Tonya, now 36 years old, was scheduled and prepped for surgery.
With her husband and 3 children by her side, and confidence in Dr. Klein’s expertise, Tonya was put at ease. The surgery was a success and Tonya had a new lease on life. “If I ever need anything again, I’ll go
straight to Englewood. Even though I live in the Bronx, Englewood is where I go for everything.”
Article Source:
BLOODLESS CHOICES|Fall/Winter 20071
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A Race Against the Clock:
