Like Nowhere Else: Morgan’s Story – Video Transcript
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Morgan Almer works out on a stationary bike.
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MORGAN ALMER: My name is Morgan Almer. Some of my hobbies include, I’m a massive baseball fan. Sports fan in general, but more so baseball is my favorite sport of the bunch. One of my items that I’m hoping to accomplish is to visit every Major League Baseball stadium in the country. So far, I’ve done 22 of the 30.Leading up to my diagnosis, there were zero signs or symptoms. I felt 100% normal. This was all picked up on a regular, normal, annual physical that I went in for.
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A doctor examines Almer.
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My dad passed away. He was 63 years old, and he passed away of a heart attack. At the urging of my wife, she had been asking for years that I get a heart screening.Finally, I did ask Doctor Mertz, and he said absolutely and recommended that I get a heart screening. I
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Medical imaging shows the organs in a man’s chest.
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went in for the cardiac calcium tests. Anything above a 400 on their rating system on their scale is considered high risk. When my number came back, it was 1815.Doctor Sarov, I first met with him in his office, and he wanted more information, more than a stress test would provide. So after meeting with me initially, he recommended that we do an angiogram. He was hoping that he would be able to stent it that day. He came in and explained he was not able to do that. He explained the blockage. I had 100% blockage, 80% blockage and 55% blockage.Doctor Canver came in, and he was in a very, very good mood, very jovial that day. He looked at the results of the angiogram, and he told me that I had two options. One option that he told me was I could do nothing. I thought, well, that sounds like a great option. And then he followed that up by saying, but I promise you that you will pass away of a widowmaker heart attack. I just don’t know when.Option two was to let him operate and perform a triple bypass surgery, which ultimately was the option that I chose. They took me in, and it was pretty close to an 8-hour surgery. Post-surgery, I went to Essentia Cardiac Rehab, and that’s where I met the team there and they would help me get back to who I was. Get
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A practitioner puts a blood pressure cuff on Almer while he works out.
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to me walking, riding bike, get the heart working a little bit. And they were there to monitor it the whole time to make sure that there were no issues with the heart.What stood out the most about my care is how much they cared. Doctor Mertz did not hesitate to order a test for me. Doctor Canver, there are 8 billion people in this world, and there’s only one person in the world that has held onto my heart physically, and that’s Doctor Canver.
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Dr. Canver and Almer smile and hug in the exam room.
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That’s pretty powerful. It makes you know that if there is an issue, what better place is there to be?Absolutely, I would recommend Essentia Health to anyone. The care I received is top notch. And the way that I think about some of it is, Essentia Health gave me a second chance, and not everybody is lucky enough to get that.
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Text: Care like nowhere else. The Essentia Health logo appears, consisting of three leaves in a circle. Text, Essentia Health.