Patient Stories

At MHVI our patients have taught us some important lessons about the power of healing, the will to change, and the difference science and technology can sometimes make. They have chosen to share their remarkable stories with you.

HER+ Fight with Cancer

Ruth was 79 years old when she was diagnosed with early stage I breast cancer in 2018.  A breast lump had been found on a routine examination.   A biopsy later confirmed breast cancer.  Further testing confirmed that the surface of her…
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Freedom from Fibrillation

Joan Vasseur was a 54-year-old busy career woman when she started to experience atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder that affects more than 3 million Americans each year. Each time she had atrial fibrillation she experienced fluttering…
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Young and Alive Again

Jim Brunelle was 57 when he underwent a quadruple bypass surgery for blockages in his heart. Things went well for him until 10 years later when he began to notice right buttock, hip, and thigh pain every time he walked. At first hewould…
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A Pacemaker that Restores Heart Function

Patricia Siedlecki was 64 when she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  Over the next several years she would become more and more fatigued and winded from a weakening heart.  Her heart enlarged even though she took heart medications…
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Gold Medalist after Two Stents

Gene Bak was 68 when he starting having chest pain. Decades of a sedentary lifestyle and an unhealthy American diet had finally caught up with him. At first he thought he was just having indigestion, but further evaluation revealed he had…
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Freed from Blood Thinners

Sandra Warneka came to Mercy Hospital after fainting at home.  She had severe abdominal pain and felt very weak, after losing half of her blood volume from internal bleeding.  She required blood transfusions and eventually improved.…
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Time is Muscle

Steve Q. was a previously healthy 49-year-old man when he got out of bed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and then suddenly collapsed without warning. His wife awoke from sleep to find him unconscious on the floor. He was not…
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Shocked By Specialized Cardiac Care

Garry Frankel, a 55 year-old photographer from Winnipeg, Canada, was visiting Minnesota for an international youth soccer tournament when on July 19, 2009, he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest in his motel room. His wife woke up at 1 a.m.…
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The Transplant Candidate and the Insanity Workout

QP was a 37 year old male who with a 10 year history of an enlarged heart (also known as cardiomyopathy) when he was admitted to Mercy Hospital after 2 weeks of a worsening cough and breathing difficulties. Shortly after arriving at Mercy…
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Breathing Easier

Del Salter of Blaine, Minnesota is one of the five million people in the United States who has heart failure.  Every day, he takes twelve medications. Despite that, he felt tired and weak and had trouble controlling his weight from fluid…
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