Dorothy - A Life in Stories, 2023

Dorothy playing piano surrounded by (left to right) Carly, Tommy, Adam, Abby, Cassidy, a Friend and Jaime

doctor in Wilmington, Delaware. The advice he gave Herman was that he should do his own research to find the best surgeon and then get the surgery done. After that advice Herman got very serious about his research. He found a surgeon in Texas, Dr. Joseph Coselli, who had studied under Dr. Michael DeBakey, a renowned pioneer in heart surgery techniques. We told our children that it wasn’t necessary for them to accompany us to Houston, Texas where the surgery would be performed. They wouldn’t take “No” for an answer. So we all flew to Houston. When I was asked to sign the release papers for the surgery and to acknowledge all the possi- ble dire side effects my hands were shaking. It was very scary to put it mildly. Fortunately a nice man from Philadelphia, a Mr. Perez, who had just undergone the same surgery reassured us that everything would be all right. After talking with him we all began to feel better. When Herman came out of the surgery with a successful result we went to find Mr. Perez to tell him Herman was okay. Mr. Perez slapped

A BIG HEART BREAKS In 1993 Herman had major heart surgery to repair an aneurysm in his descending aorta. An aneurysm is a swelling in an artery that is like a swelling in a weak spot in a tire – it is only a matter of time before it bursts. Herman got conflicting advice on what to do. Some doctors thought he should just wait and they would monitor his condition. Our family doctor told him that if it was his father he would have a surgeon in Fort Lauderdale operate. When Herman visited this surgeon he

was told that the mortali- ty rate for this surgery was forty per cent. While he was talking to Herman the doctor’s hands were shak- ing. Would you want this doctor to do your surgery? Herman decided to keep looking. He called Richard Gordon, the husband of his niece who is a heart

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Dr. Coselli

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