Albert's Story

About the time he turned 82 late last year, Albert C. couldn't understand why he was starting to slow down. Walking up his driveway’s incline in Elkins Park, he had to pause halfway up—particularly if he was carrying a package. When he went to New York to enjoy a Broadway musical with his wife Pauline and friends, he couldn’t walk around like he usually did.

So upon his return to Montgomery County he visited his cardiologist, Garo S. Garibian, MD, the chief of Cardiology of nearby Temple University Hospital – Jeanes Campus. After ordering an echocardiogram, the next day Dr. Garibian told Albert, "You're not getting a stress test, you're getting an operation."

Then a catheterization at Jeanes Campus showed Albert wasn't a candidate for stents because—even though he hadn't suffered a heart attack—he had 100 percent blockages in two of his four coronary arteries and an 85 percent blockage in a third. So in mid-December he underwent a triple coronary artery bypass procedure. It was performed by Robert S. Boova, MD, the hospital's chief of cardiovascular surgery and a Temple heart surgeon.

"Years ago I was in two other hospitals for two different surgeries," Albert says, "and I never before had anything like this in terms of care. It was unbelievable. I could have gone to other hospitals here in Montgomery County, but I’ve always loved Jeanes Campus and I feel comfortable there."

"It starts with Dr. Garibian, and I love Dr. Boova. He and his nurse practitioner, Jacqueline Redman, make a great, great team."

Discharged eight days later, Albert did some cardiac rehab exercise sessions at the hospital and gradually rebuilt his strength. By mid-February, two months after his operation, he and his wife drove non-stop from Elkins Park to Pompano Beach, Florida, for a three-week vacation.

Today, he spends much of his time in the garden and isn't hesitant about doing anything he used to do.