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| Patrick Hirtle |
Bridgewater council welcomed member Patrick Hirtle back this week after successfully undergoing heart surgery. The 29-year-old returned to council just two-and-a-half weeks after getting his aortic valve and most of his aortic root removed and replaced with Dacron tubing. Hirtle says its a frustrating situation for him to be in.
"The artificial valve they put in should last something on the order of 20-30 years before it needs to be replaced again, but of course, I have to go on blood thinners and as someone who is young and fairly active and plays a lot of softball, a lot of hockey, that sort of thing, I have to be extra careful not to, you know, make sure I suffer any significant cuts or anything like that because obviously the bleeding is going to be much more difficult to control now."
Hirtle says he's been advised to keep a low physical activity level including lots of rest and daily walks. He says he has lots of time right now to think about his future. Hirtle doesn't know if he'll have a very active lifestyle again.
"Am I ever going to get back to playing in a ball hockey tournament or on the ice at the rink or am I going to be able to play softball because at this stage, I really don't know what my physical limitations are going to be. This latest procedure was something completely new for me and I don't know what the long-term ramifications of having a synthetic valve in there are going to be."
He says there has been incredible support from family, friends and residents throughout the County. Hirtle expects to recover within six to eight weeks. The full interview with Patrick Hirtle can be heard on this weekend's South Shore Sunday Morning program from 8-9am on HANK-FM and 9-10am on CKBW.
