My Story

Posted by Mike Bullington

on Mar 31, 2016

I was operated on by Dr. Allen Morris, a colleague of Dr. Rossiter’s, on September 15, 2005. He repaired a ventricular septal defect (congenital hole in the ventricle wall) and mitral valve prolapse (leaky mitral valve) in a six hour operation. The result has been transformational, giving me energy that I had never had before (dancing, golfing, tennis, shooting sports, swimming). I awoke from surgery at 4:30 AM the next morning and could not go to sleep until midnight. I even walked over to my neighbor’s room to visit 24 hours after the operation had been completed. Bad idea – got dizzy and triggered my heart monitor’s warning system, causing a little bit of excitement in the cardiac ward. I have not slowed down since.

I recalled how Paul Bystrowski had responded after hearing Bob Mutchler speak, as a result of how polio immunization had impacted his life.

I reflected on that as I listened to Dr. Rossiter and felt that I could be no less generous, in view of how the medical professionals at Mercy Hospital had given me a second life.