Mary and John Ross

The first time Mary Ross heard about Queen of the Valley Medical Center
was in a handwritten note. It read: “Mary, an ax fell on my head,
and I’ve gone to the hospital.”
The note was from the man she was dating — her now husband of more
than 25 years, John. Mary had just arrived in town to visit him, and didn’t
know where the hospital was. As she made calls to nd out, gruesome scenes
ran through her mind. “I pictured something out of a horror movie,” she said.
Moments later, John breezed through the door, sporting only “a little
Band-Aid on his head,” Mary said. Fortunately, it was the handle
of the ax, not the blade, that had struck him. “It fell o where
I had it hanging on the wall and got me right in the middle of my forehead,”
John, 77, explained.
It wouldn’t be the last time the Queen would play a part in their
relationship. “We’re sort of regulars,” Mary, 67, joked.
“My husband likes to work with his hands. Every time he cuts himself
a little too deep, he’s gone to the Queen.”
For decades, the couple has entrusted the Queen with their medical concerns
large and small. Then, in 2016, remarkable circumstances brought both
Mary and John to the hospital as patients within two weeks of each other.
In March 2016, John started experiencing dizziness. His cardiologist,
Sergio Manubens, MD, with St. Joseph Health Medical Group, identi ed an
irregular heart rhythm and prescribed medications that helped for a time.
Then in May, things got more serious.
“He just dropped to the floor one day,” Mary said. She called
911, and paramedics brought John to the Queen — just 5 minutes from
their house — where hospital sta stabilized his heart rhythm. He
returned home that night, but fainted again a few days later. That’s
when Dr. Manubens recommended surgery to replace his aortic valve. It
didn’t come as a surprise to John; Dr. Manubens had been monitoring
the narrowing valve for months and had predicted John might need the surgery
soon. “Six months go by, and bingo — it was right on the money,”
John said.
Cardiovascular surgeon Robert Klingman, MD, performed the aortic valve
replacement on May 12. John’s natural aortic valve, an aortic valve
from a pig sewn into a metal ring. “They behave more like your own
valves, and they don't require long-term blood thinners,” Dr.
Manubens explained.
The surgery went well, and after eight days in the hospital, John returned
home to complete his recovery.
Little did they know, however, it was just the beginning of John and Mary’s
adventure.
Read more...