The Journey of Doug Paquette
On July 9th Doug underwent his much anticipated open heart surgery. Three grafts were constructed to his coronary arteries. The surgeons established flow of oxygenated blood to the left side of his heart using an artery from his left arm and an artery from his chest wall. In addition, the abnormal origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery was eliminated. For the first time in nearly 40 years, Doug’s left ventricle received pink, oxygenated blood. Fortunately the surgery went well and he had a fast and smooth recovery. Doug was discharged from the hospital one week later.
Since his surgery Doug is enjoying spending time with his family in New Hampshire and they are enjoying his warm personality and good spirits. He is back to working about 12 hours a week, but once he gets the green light from the Tufts cardiology team, he’ll be ready for a full-time job. In the meantime, he presents his family with plenty of trout that he manages to catch in the streams near his home.
In early August the Tufts Medical Center hosted a very impressive and poignant celebration in honor of Mr. Ray Tye and his Foundation for their support of Mr. Paquette. Doug’s aunt, Gail Delisle, expressed her thanks to the surgical team, nurses and office staff for their compassionate and caring help. She thanked her special Angels: Helaine Silverman of Tufts Medical Center Development Office and Mr. Tye for stepping up when Doug’s time was running out. She said Doug was blessed with the biggest miracle ever from The Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation which will never be forgotten.
Today, Doug is feeling well and in his usual tone of optimism expresses how very much he looks forward to living the rest of his life. Recently he told me “The list of things I have yet to do is way longer than the list of things I’ve already done.”
Doug with Mr. Tye
January 15th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Thank you so much for all the work that you do.