Nick's Journey with Emergency Heart Surgery

On 6.25.2025, Nick Petefish went into his heart doctor appointment. His EKG results came back abnormal. He was immediately admitted into the hospital because of his Afib, a condition where the heart's upper chambers beat irregularly (he was in-between 140 and 160 for hours). He went into a procedure called a Cardioversion on 6.26.25, where the doctors would shock his heart back into rhythm. While under for the procedure, the doctors discovered that one of his valves was not functioning and he had an aortic aneurysm (blood clot). He was transferred to the ICU and closely monitored until moving to the heart floor (4 days later). Over the next few days he was closely monitored, and several tests were ran in order to get him into urgent open heart surgery. On 6.30.25, the doctor cleared him for surgery. On 7.3.25, Nick underwent open heart surgery where the Dr cut off the appendage, a common source of blood clots with patients with A Fib. These blood clots can travel to the brain and cause a stroke (hence the urgency of the open heart surgery). Thank God they were able to get Nick in before any further incidents. The Dr also cut out the aortic aneurysm and repaired the valve tissue (by replacing it with cow tissue). Nick went into surgery around noon and came out around 615pm. Surgery went well. The Dr stated that his valve was very bad. His heart function was very low prior to surgery. After surgery, his heart function was a tad better, but the Dr didnt have to put any device in. He will be on a ventilator throughout the night and the next 24 hours are crucial as with any aortic surgery, they bleed a lot. They will monitor this and attempt to take him off the ventilator tomorrow to see how he does.

For anyone who knows Nick and his wife Ang, these 2 amazing friends would give you the clothes off their back. They are prayer warriors for anyone in need and now they need us. With Nick being off work for weeks (possibly months), and for Ang missing work for being next to Nick, I want to be able to take the financial worries and burdens off of them. They will be able to use this money to heal, recover, and allow Ang to help care for him while at home. If you are unable to donate, please shower them with prayer.