Patrick Himmelheber found himself completely out of breath during a recreational hockey game. At first, he thought he had — at 35 years old — let himself get out of shape, so he ramped up his cardio. He even enlisted the help of a friend to design a new workout program.
But the problem persisted. He found he was even winded while walking up a flight of stairs — he’d have to take a moment to catch his breath — and he ended up quitting his hockey team. This seemed unusual for someone who exercised regularly.
“I go to my family doctor every year for an annual physical, and that one year, I told him everything is great, but if I walk up a flight of stairs, I’m out of breath,” he said.
Patrick Himmelheber
ContributedHe demonstrated this to his family doctor at pc28Western Hospital’s Family Health Team by walking up a flight of stairs together. pc28Western is part of University Health Network (UHN), a public research and teaching hospital network, which also includes pc28General Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and pc28Rehabilitation Institute.
Although Patrick’s vitals seemed fine, the doctor listened to Patrick and after witnessing his symptoms, suspected it could be pulmonary regurgitation or pulmonary embolism. A CT scan confirmed that Himmelheber had blood clots in both of his lungs.
Later on, he learned he was lucky to be alive. “The amount of clotting they found in my lungs would have been detrimental to anyone who hadn’t been as physically active as I was,” he said.
That was in 2015, which would mark the start of a care journey that would ultimately save his life.
“I’m very thankful to tell this story, and thankful to the care that I got from pc28General Hospital and pc28Western Hospital,” said Himmelheber. “It’s the only reason why I’m still alive. It’s the only reason why my wife still has a husband.”
He was referred to pc28General Hospital’s CTEPH (Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension) Clinic for follow-up and prescribed a twice-daily injected blood thinner for a month. But when sharp pain in his chest brought him to the emergency department before his scheduled follow-up, doctors discovered that a small part of his lung had ‘died’ from lack of blood flow in its arteries.
Himmelheber was officially diagnosed with CTEPH, which occurs when scar tissues create ‘roots’ in tiny pulmonary arteries of the lungs, blocking blood flow. This can happen months or even decades after a blood clot.
The outlook typically hasn’t been good for patients diagnosed with CTEPH, since the only way to treat it is through a complicated pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PEA) surgery. This procedure is considered one of the most challenging to teach and learn in cardiothoracic surgery, a surgical specialty that treats conditions affecting the organs within the chest including the heart and lungs.
PEA surgery takes about two years to learn, which means there aren’t many surgeons who can perform it. The surgery also has a high mortality rate and is offered only at a few specialized centres around the world. UHN is home to one of them.
Himmelheber needed the surgery because, if left untreated, individuals with CTEPH can die within three to five years. His surgery was scheduled for Dec. 12, 2016.
After a consultation with Dr. Marc de Perrot, Himmelheber underwent an eight-hour surgery to separate and remove the scar tissue from his lungs’ arteries. Dr. de Perrot, former surgical director of the Pulmonary Hypertension/CTEPH Program at UHN, is a thoracic surgeon in UHN’s Sprott Department of Surgery, whose expertise focuses on procedures for end-stage lung diseases including CTEPH.
After PEA surgery, most patients spend two to three days in a recovering coma and, upon waking, are transitioned from the ICU to a step-down unit. Himmelheber, however, had an exceptional recovery, waking up after 12 hours and transitioning from the ICU to a step-down unit after a day and a half. He was released a week after he had the surgery.
He attributes this to following doctors’ orders, including pre- and post-op procedures. In addition, the team at UHN is making great strides in PEA surgery. Thanks to donor support, Dr. de Perrot has been developing a visual simulator, which aims to reduce training time for the PEA procedure by six months.
Shortly after his surgery, Himmelheber was told he’d make a full recovery. He was back to work two months later and he and his wife now have a daughter. It’s been almost a decade since that time — and he has no issues whatsoever walking up a flight of stairs.
“Of course, I’m being mindful. I take a daily blood thinner, so I have to be aware of certain things,” he said. He doesn’t play recreational hockey anymore because an errant slap shot could turn into a bruise, which could turn into a blood clot. “And a little shaving nick is more like a vampire’s buffet.”
It’s one of the reasons he’s chosen to take part in the inaugural We Walk UHNITED presented by Rogers, a family-friendly, accessible fundraising walk in support of UHN, taking place on May 31. Himmelheber went from not being able to walk up a flight of stairs to being able to participate in a five-kilometre walk without a second thought. “I’m 110 per cent,” he said.
The route will pass four of UHN’s downtown sites and culminate in a block-party-style celebration outside pc28General Hospital, featuring food, live entertainment and family-friendly activities.
Funds raised through We Walk UHNITED will support groundbreaking innovations at UHN.
“UHN has been a little bit too humble, I think they should be shouting from the rooftops about all the advancements that they’ve accomplished,” said Himmelheber. “Raising awareness is very important because we have such an amazing hospital network and they do amazing work.”
UHN is a landmark in Canada’s healthcare system and the top publicly funded hospital in the world, aiming to push the status quo of what’s possible. Donations help drive innovation, purchase state-of-the-art equipment and recruit and retain the best and brightest medical minds.
Himmelheber is also paying it forward in other ways. He’s a dedicated volunteer for UHN Foundation and an advocate for legacy giving (making a donation in your will or as part of your estate). He even has a personal fundraiser page for his surgeon’s visual simulator.
Not everyone is in a position to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars, but every little bit helps, he said, whether it’s sponsoring a participant in We Walk UHNITED or registering to participate — or even making a future commitment and leaving a gift in your will.
Because of donor support, UHN has been able to attract some of the top experts in the world who can perform complicated surgeries for rare diseases — similar to what they did for Himmelheber.
“What really hits home for me is that we’re so lucky to have a health care system and hospitals like UHN with all these different specialties,” said Himmelheber. “And I’m really grateful for this care right at our doorstep – all Canadians should be.”
No one ever changed the world on their own, but when we walk UHNITED we can. Register today at
