Washington man grateful for Texsan care and lifestyle change
Washington man Justin Phillips is grateful for the Texsan care he received and the lifestyle change that followed.
Justin Phillips, 68, is grateful for the care he received during a life-threatening health scare on vacation in Texas. Justin and his wife are from Washington and visit their son in Austin, Texas, each spring. During a road trip to San Antonio, Justin started to feel something was wrong.
“We had stopped in Johnson City for a bowl of chili,” said Justin. “I started feeling tightness in my chest, but I thought it was the chili. I had to sit in a chair to rest. My hands started feeling numb. My chest was tight. My wife said ‘Let's go to the doctor.’”
The urgent care center took his blood pressure and did an EKG. They sent him straight to Methodist Hospital | Texsan.
“By the time we got there, they had a wheelchair waiting outside,” said Justin. “Tests showed I wasn't getting enough oxygen to the blood and I had several blockages in my heart.”
Justin and his wife had to cancel the rest of their vacation plans, which included a trip to Madrid. Instead, he scheduled a quadruple bypass surgery with Dr. Renata Ford, a cardiothoracic surgery specialist with Methodist Hospital | Texsan. Justin stayed in recovery for a few days, and then he was moved to the rehabilitation unit at Texsan.
“They were amazing. Everyone was so helpful,” said Justin. “I was very thankful to be so close to Texsan. All the nurses were great. The physical therapists. I'm very grateful for what they did for me even though I wasn't home.”
But his experience didn't stop there. Dr. Ford encouraged Justin to look into making lifestyle changes to prevent further damage to his heart.
“Dr. Ford said she wanted me to look into a plant-based diet,” said Justin. “My wife and I did some research, and we stopped eating red meat and pork, and tried more vegan and vegetarian diets.”
Dr. Ford teaches patients that heart care is more than taking care of the heart.
“We take a holistic approach to heart care,” said Dr. Ford. “You have to take care of your whole body through optimal nutrition and exercise.”
Justin reports he's lost 20 pounds since his surgery, and he's more active. He does Pilates three times a week, plays golf and walks every day.
“People think they can just take medication and eat whatever they want. That's sad. Because you can't just take medication and eat whatever you want,” said Justin. “Now I'm doing very well and very grateful that I was able to change my diet and get such fantastic help from Texsan.”