Page 41 - An Innovation Spirit ...

Touching
lives from
coast to coast
The circle of care at the Peter Munk Cardiac 25, and two days later I got married.”
Centre (PMCC) extends far beyond the
boundaries of Toronto. Each year, thousands of to Toronto to be near the PMCC, where
patients from communities across the country
come to Canada's leading cardiac care centre.
Jamie Wilkinson, a music teacher from
Flatrock near St. John’s, Nfld., was flown by
air ambulance to the PMCC in July 2012, just
two weeks before he and his fiancée were set to job in improving my quality of life,” says
tie the knot. Born with a defective heart, Mr.
Wilkinson was struggling to breathe because
Newfoundland resident Jamie Wilkson (left) and Jeff Allan from Calgary resident of Cochrane,
(right) are among PMCC patients from across Canada.
his heart wasn’t pumping properly, resulting
in a buildup of fluid around the organ.
“The doctors at [the] PMCC got rid of 25
pounds of fluid, and during the two weeks I
was in the hospital, the congenital cardiac team which was stretching to the point where it
was in constant touch, explaining what they
were doing and why,” recalls Mr. Wilkinson,
who is 37 years old. “I was discharged July
Mr. Wilkinson and his wife have relocated
Mr. Wilkinson was recently implanted
with a pacemaker, a defibrillator and a
ventricular assist device, which helps his
heart pump blood to all parts of the body.
“The doctors have done such a wonderful
Mr. Wilkinson. “They’re the best group of
doctors I’ve encountered, that’s for sure.
They’re so knowledgeable
and intelligent, and
they treat us like we’re
part of the team.”
It’s been 24 years since
Jeff Allan travelled to the
PMCC for valve-sparing
surgery, a technique
developed at the hospital
to save the defective valve,
instead of replacing it with
an artificial or porcine
valve. The 53-year-old
software developer and
Alta., still remembers
HARVEYKALLES.COM
the world-class care he received in 1991.
Mr. Allan has Marfan syndrome, a genetic
disorder that causes problems with connective
tissue throughout the body. In Mr. Allan’s
case, the disorder had led to a dilated aorta,
might rupture. To address this problem, Dr.
Tirone David removed the enlarged valve,
inserted it into artificial tubing and attached
the entire assembly back to Mr. Allan’s heart.
“I have not had any problems related
to the surgery and have not needed to
go back,” says Mr. Allan. “When I hit
the 20-year anniversary of my surgery,
I compiled a little video for Dr. David
basically saying, ‘Here I am. Life is good.’”
Life is definitely better for Katjana Biljan, an
Ottawa psychotherapist with congenital heart
disease. By 2013, after four decades of heart
problems, she was a palliative care patient
whose day-to-day survival depended on an
oxygen machine, which kept her homebound.
She was referred to the PMCC that year,
where doctors performed tissue implant
surgery to fix a hole in her heart.
“They gave me my life back,” says Ms.
Biljan, who is 42 years old. “I’m a really
complex patient, and this is one of the
top centres in the world that specializes
in complex cardiac cases like mine.”
Ms. Biljan says she no longer needs daily
doses of oxygen from a machine. She’s
looking forward to resuming her career
after more than two years of not working.
– marjo johne
2145 Avenue Road
416.441.2888
Invest in your dreams.