Brother and Sister Toast the Bride … and their Successful Heart Procedures at Silver Cross  

At his daughter Kari’s July 14 wedding, Jim Galen and his sister, Linda Mitchell, shared a celebratory dance, and not just for the new couple. 

Each had potentially life-saving heart procedures at the Midwest Institute for Heart at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox only weeks before. Mitchell was first; thankfully, a friend had suggested the Frankfort Square woman make an appointment with Dr. Joseph Stella, an interventional cardiologist on staff at Silver Cross Hospital. 

“I hadn’t been feeling well since late winter, early spring,” Mitchell said. “Usually, I’m pretty active. My husband, Rik, asks if I am ever going to slow down.” 

But that’s exactly what she felt herself doing: not keeping up with household chores on the weekend, getting out of breath after a short walk from her home to her office and her heart racing from time to time. 

“I would wake up in the middle of the night, and my Fitbit watch was showing 95 beats per minute,” she said. 

Explained it Away

While she blew all of this off for weeks, Mitchell said Dr. Stella didn’t. He listened to all of it, and even though the camera portion of a nuclear stress test showed no blockages, the treadmill test showed abnormalities.  

“So, he kept digging. He scheduled me for an angiogram, but several days before, I was watching my 3-year-old grandson, and I really didn’t feel well. Rik was at an event, so I called my son and daughter-in-law. 

“They could tell I wasn’t doing well and called for paramedics. I asked to be taken to Silver Cross because of Dr. Stella.” 

At the Emergency Department, her heart rate was 204 beats per minute. She had more tests, and her angiogram was bumped up to Monday. When Dr. Hong Jun Yun, Medical Director for  the Structural Heart Program at Silver Cross and interventional cardiologist who was on call, saw her charts, he told her not to eat the breakfast on the tray near her. 

“He said, ‘I have a procedure to do, and then you’re next,’” she said. “One artery was 90 to 95 percent blocked, and the other 80 to 85 percent. Only 20 percent of the blood was getting to my heart.” 

The “widow-maker” artery also was blocked, she said, but Dr. Yun waited two weeks until May 30 for her to heal a bit since that was a more intricate stent procedure. 

Dr. Stella to the Rescue

As she followed up with Dr. Stella in between procedures, Mitchell brought along a copy of her brother’s heart scan results taken at a hospital closer to his Aurora home. Galen, 64, wasn’t having any symptoms, but he knew his dad had a stroke and heart issues at 53. 

“I was shocked when the scan showed I have a 95 percent chance of having a serious heart event,” Galen said. “Doctors up here didn’t seem too concerned, but I was.” 

And so was Dr. Stella when he saw Galen’s scan results. 

“He said, ‘I am double-booked through January. But I will see your brother next week,’” Mitchell remembered. 

Galen said one artery was 99 percent blocked, and another 95 percent. The progression was so severe a stent was out of the question. Instead, Dr. Stella made a call and requested surgery as soon as possible. 

Got to the Church on Time

Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Allison Beckett scheduled a double-bypass for June 20, less than a month before his daughter’s wedding. 

“I asked Dr. Stella if I would be able to attend my daughter’s wedding,” Galen said. “He said I will be good to go.” 

And he was. Galen got to walk Kari down the aisle, make the father-of-the-bride speech, and, maybe most importantly, have that daddy-daughter dance. 

“It would have been emotional anyway,” Galen said. “But with everything, it was more so. I was just so happy.” 

Mitchell requested a song she and her brother could dance to: “My Heart Will Go On,” the theme to the movie, “Titanic.” 

He and Mitchell can’t say enough about the care they got at Silver Cross. “The doctors – cardiologists, surgeons – nurses, technicians, all came in to check on me, and they were all great.” 

Galen said heart scans are so important – as well as easy and economical – he wishes insurance companies would require them. And Mitchell is glad she shared his with Dr. Stella. 

“This has been the greatest blessing of my life. What happened to me saved my brother’s life.”

And they are spreading the love to other family members who are at risk, including a brother who lives in Rockford, but will travel to Silver Cross to see Dr. Stella.

 “He’s driving 100 miles to see the best cardiologist we know.” 

To schedule a $49 CT Heart Scan at Silver Cross Hospital, call 815-300-7076.