Bobby File-56

Name: Bobby  File
Email: bobbyfile@yahoo.com
Age at time of Dissection: 56
Type of Dissection: Ascending
Date of Aortic Dissection: 20 September 2008

Tell Us Your Story:

While speaking during a Saturday session of my church’s men’s retreat in Amarillo, Texas, I suddenly felt like I was getting sick, but it wasn’t a normal kind of sick. The pain in my chest felt really strange, so I told the guys I needed to lay down. Some of them suggested I get to a hospital to get checked out, & I’m glad they followed through with getting me there. At the Amarillo hospital I began to feel worse & worse.

They gave me something and; took me for a heart cath. I was “in and out” after that. What the doctor saw just above the aortic valve made him stop & immediately arrange for a very fast 600 mile air ambulance flight to Houston Hobby Airport & admittance into St. Luke’s Hospital. It was something he knew needed a very special medical team. This was the week after Hurricane Ike had ravaged Houston. My wife had gotten to the Amarillo hospital earlier, consulted with the doctors & made the flight with me.


I was out most of the trip, but we landed after only 1 hour and 45 minutes. By this time night had fallen & I was aware that the short ambulance drive to the Houston Medical Center was unusually dark — because most of downtown Houston was dark — power outages from the hurricane.  As I was wheeled in I saw my family & some friends who had managed to get there. My 2 daughters were among them, barely making the last flight from Los Angeles. Once inside I learned I shouldn’t have survived either the episode in Amarillo or the flight, but since I made it, now there was the opportunity for the 8 hour surgery to repair the aortic dissection & aneurysm.


I remember hearing that there was a 25% mortality rate with this particular surgery, even at a first rate facility like St. Luke’s. The medical team was headed by Dr. Joseph S. Coselli; my surgeon would be Dr. Kapil Sharma. I knew I would either wake up in Houston or in the presence of my Lord…so in I went.  I remember waking up “sometime” in ICU & my beautiful wife Marty was right there. Somehow I’d made it.

God’s mercy & grace were very evident. The aorta just above the aortic valve was huge & was as thin as cellophane — Dr. Sharma said he could see right through it. While in the recovery ICU I remember hearing the talking & laughter of my family & friends who had gathered in the waiting area down the hall. What a great sound that was! Moving to a room in the hospital was a huge event, & all the nursing staff did a great job.

One especially stood out, Minnie Mack, who helped, taught, encouraged, and shared her joy and trust in the Lord. After only 8 days I was discharged & the next day Marty & I flew back home to Amarillo on Southwest Airlines to begin the long & arduous recovery process. Sometime after about 6 months someone said my color was back. The “new normal” began after about a year. I’ll always be on blood pressure meds (and my CPAP machine at night), but after almost 2 years, I’m enjoying my first grandchild, making a few trips, and planning to attend my 40 yr high school reunion in Houston. I found this website because one of those high school classmates also had this condition & operation. Her story, & her mother’s, are on this website as well.

Pretty small & elite ‘club’ we’re in. Who would have thought that a Dacron graft in the hands of a very skilled surgeon could repair such an incredibly deadly problem.

Thanks for stopping by to view our stories. Please help me keep the site going by shopping at Amazon.com-It’s very much appreciated. Brian Tinsley founder of AorticDissection.com (please book mark the link once you get to Amazon.com for future purchases!)

If you liked this article, you may also like:

1. Gary Whitaker-45