- Posted on August 26, 2024
Patient Stories: Cory Smith
Celebratory vacations, kindergarten graduations, and new memories on the horizon
Cory Smith sits on a patio, mimosa in hand, overlooking the hilly Tuscan countryside. He’s celebrating his 44th birthday with his wife, Carrie, on a trip to Europe that was supposed to happen a year earlier.
As he gazes toward the breathtaking views and tastes the sweet orange juice in his bubbly drink, Cory feels happiness, peace and gratitude.
He nearly didn’t live to see this day.
“We're not guaranteed anything, as I’ve learned,” Cory says, 17 months after the open-heart surgery that saved his life.
Suspicious symptoms
Cory, a sports reporter in Stratford, was working at his kitchen table in March 2023 when his heart rate accelerated, and his breath shortened. Remembering the heart attack his cousin had survived weeks earlier, Cory drove to his local hospital.
A CT scan revealed that Cory’s aorta, the body’s main artery, had torn. Within minutes, he was in an ambulance racing down Highway 8 to St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener, where Dr. Kassem Ashe’s operating room was ready for his arrival.
Dodging complications that could have left Cory paralyzed or in kidney failure, Dr. Ashe replaced the injured aortic valve with a new, mechanical one.
Cory, at 43 years old, had survived an aortic dissection – something few people can say. Approximately 90 per cent of patients who suffer aortic dissections die within the first hour, Dr. Ashe told him later.
“I owe the staff at St. Mary’s my life,” Cory says. “I say it all the time: I’m their No. 1 fan.”
500-plus days of memories, and counting...
While Cory often thinks back to the March 2023 day that was nearly his last, his framing of that moment now focuses on what came after it.
He thinks about the celebratory gathering he hosted in Stratford a year after his surgery, and how Dr. Ashe surprised his guests by attending.
He thinks about how he danced with his wife in the streets of Florence during his European trip this summer.
And he thinks about watching his five-year-old son Brady graduate kindergarten, score his first soccer goal, and lose his first tooth, all in a matter of weeks.
It’s the memories Cory’s made since his aortic dissection – and the ones still to come – that stand out now.
“Family trips, holidays, major milestones, they all feel more significant,” he says. “With each milestone that passes, I think about how I nearly didn't get to see it.”
Giving back, by giving his all
Cory has used that gratitude to fuel a fundraiser for the hospital, raising more than $3,000 – three times his original goal – while preparing for a 10-kilometre race in Kitchener on Sept. 14.
The race will punctuate an exceptional recovery story that included a 27-day stay in hospital and a decision to take up jogging after relearning to walk.
Cory never enjoyed long-distance running before the aortic dissection. But as his recovery walks turned into recovery runs, his progress motivated him to stretch each cardio session further.
“One kilometre became two and it kind of just went from there,” he says. “Running is great for cardiovascular health."
“So, I intend to keep going.”
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