70-year-old has new device and dedicated team to thank for his life

Standing front and center with his controller and battery pack attached was 70-year-old Jim Chilson of Dry Fork, who was recently implanted with a new FDA-approved mechanical device that helps his heart pump blood. Surrounding him were family members and emergency room staff at St. John's Hospital -- Berryville. They received special training from Nurse Holly Wright who traveled from Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City where the device was installed. Anna Mathews / CCN [Order this photo]

Jim had moved to Carroll County 28 years ago, in 1982, when he and his partner Tony Wojnar opened Dry Fork Store and Flea Market, a popular business they operated the next 27 years.

Always active, positive, and cheerful, Jim endured more than his share of ailments over the years and mastered each with firm determination and strong faith.

Above: Nurse Holly Wright held an LVAD in her hand, similar to one implanted in Jim Chilson's chest. The cord exits his abdomen to hook into a computerized controller and battery pack. Left: Seventy year-old Jim Chilson sat still as emergency room personnel at St. John's Hospital -- Berryville listened to his dual heartbeats: one from his weakened heart; the other from a recently implanted mechanical pump known as an LVAD. Staff from an Oklahoma City hospital where the surgical procedure took place traveled to Jim's hometown to teach emergency room staff, EMTs and first responders how the new device works. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

This latest heart ailment was more serious, but his steadfast determination and enduring faith carried him through once more.

He is now the proud recipient of an LVAD, which stands for Left Ventricular Assist Device. It is described as a mechanical heart device that helps the heart pump blood throughout the body.

It was installed during open heart surgery Feb. 10 at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City.

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Jim is the second person in Arkansas to have such a device, which was just approved for use for "destination therapy" by the FDA.

Previously, it was only used as a bridge for heart transplant patients awaiting a donor. Jim was not awaiting a donor heart. He did not qualify.

"I went to Oklahoma City about a year ago for a transplant evaluation," remembered Jim, "but I was denied because of my age."

It was at that time, he said, that doctors told him about the LVAD, noting that it was not FDA approved for destination therapy, which is what he needed.

Jim said he was a little apprehensive at that point, wondering if he could hold out.

He already had a defibrillator/pacemaker implant and had "coded" twice when the unit misfired and shocked him repeatedly. That left him with 35 abrasions on his heart.

His partner of 40 years, Tony, recalled that time, saying, "all other interventions had been tried and failed. This was, for me, a scarry as hell situation. I was helpless and faced the loss of my partner every minute of every day."

As snow lay on the ground on a freezing cold February day, the phone call that changed everything came their way.

"It was a little more than four weeks ago, on a Friday, that I got the phone call saying it was approved for me," Jim smiled. "They said, talk it over, let us know, we have it set up for Monday."

Jim said he didn't hesitate. He had done his homework, he had faith in his specialist, Dr. Douglas Horstmansoff, and he was ready to live life to its fullest again.

The LVAD was installed on Monday and immediately began helping with the pumping ability of Jim's weakened heart.

"I was their fastest recovering patient ever," Jim beamed. "Immediately, when taking those first baby steps after surgery, my knees and joints didn't hurt like they had. I could bend over. I can tie my shoes! And, most importantly, I'm no longer out of breath like I was!"

Hometown training

Once Jim was discharged from the hospital, he was followed home by R.N. Holly Wright, the hospital's LVAD coordinator, and intern Linden Heflin, a bio-medical engineering student.

Together, they train medical professionals living and working in their patient's communities so they know how to respond should problems arise. Since the technology is so new, few are familiar with the LVAD.

Nurse Holly and intern Linden met with EMTs and emergency room personnel at St. John's Hospital in Berryville Monday.

Along with them was Jim, accompanied by Tony, who carried a notebook filled with pertinent medical information, and Jim's 24/7 caregiver, Raymond Arnold, his great nephew.

They all gathered in the emergency room for a training session. A second session followed that evening at the South Carroll County Fire Station where first responders learned about Jim's newest mechanical heart device.

"When we place a device," said Holly, "we go home with the patient and train the local hospital EMS staff and the first responders," she explained.

She demonstrated the device with its titanium five-pound 9,600 r.p.m. fan, its controller and portable batteries, saying Jim should be treated like any other patient, except no MRIs and no CPR. If there is a mechanical problem, he should be airlifted to Integris Baptist immediately.

Otherwise, for other medical ailments, she said, "Make sure he has plenty of battery power." He was given six portable batteries, she said, a 12-hour emergency battery, and a base unit for his home that runs on conventional electrical power.

"The base unit has a 20-foot cord so he's tethered," she said, "and it is usually only used when sleeping."

There were plenty of questions and many listened to Jim's "double" hearts, which some described as sounding like a trolling motor.

The LVAD

The LVAD, she explained, has a tube that pulls blood from the left ventricle into a pump. The pump then sends the blood into the aorta, which is the large blood vessel leaving the left ventricle.

The pump is placed in the upper part of the abdomen. Another tube attached to the pump is brought out of the abdominal wall to the outside of the body and attached to the pump's batteries and computerized control system.

Holly said the pump is very reliable, it has a four-to-five year life span, and the LVAD has become a very popular device in just the last three years.

Jim

Jim never leaves home without his gear, which consists of his controller, battery pack, and satchel filled with extra batteries since each one lasts no more than four hours.

"I feel like a new man," Jim said. "The only drawback is carrying around the extra weight of the batteries. And, when I was first hooked up to the base unit, I felt like my life was hanging by a cord -- but isn't everyone's to some degree?

"The more I have this, the more automatic it becomes, like the changing of the batteries.

"Since I've been back home from the hospital, I've been to the lakeshore, I've been shopping, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the garden.

"Although the batteries are heavy to carry around," Jim added, "the technology is changing so quickly, like cell phones, that soon all of it will be smaller and more compact. Everyone is on the bandwagon -- now that it's FDA approved."

Jim had high praise for the medical team at Integris Baptist, saying "they are wonderful people, and he extended his "heartfelt" thanks to his many supportive friends and loving family, and to Tony's "compassionate" employer, Car Mart, for allowing Tony to take ample time off.

Besides all that, Jim says he is thrilled to be a medical pioneer -- one of the first implanted with an LVAD to carry him into his golden years.