Gerry leading a
Ginastica Natural class.
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15)
“His main concern was that he wouldn’t
be as active as he was used to being,”
Dr. Szeto-Wong said. Gerry went in for the ablation the day
before Thanksgiving. By 4 p.m., he was
on his way home.
Gerry chose to have a cardiac ablation.
The minimally invasive surgical proce-
dure destroys the tissue in the heart
that allows the incorrect electrical
signals to occur. “People like Gerry who are more active
tend to be more aware of symptoms,”
Dr. Szeto-Wong said. “Being aware of
changes, like an elevated heart rate, can
lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment.
Probably the most dangerous thing
about atrial flutter is that it increases
the risk of stroke.”
It all happened in a matter of days,
thanks to Pali Momi's state-of-the-art
electrophysiology lab. The facility
opened in 2017 with the equipment
and specialized staff needed to perform
cardiac ablations and other life-chang-
ing electrophysiology procedures.
16
INSPIRE
|
FA L L 2 0 1 8
TODAY, GERRY IS BACK TO HIS
BUSY SCHEDULE. He does make
annual visits to the cardiologist and
makes sure to stay hydrated. He knows
he was fortunate to have discovered
the problem early.
"I surfed with him this morning and he
was catching all the waves," profes-
sional surfer Zoe McDougall said. "Kid
is so energetic and he motivates all of
us. He's got endless energy that he
just passes onto all of us. It was really
surprising [when he had heart trouble]
because we always think of him as the
healthiest guy that we know. It just
shows that it can happen to anyone."
“The main thing is getting your life back,”
Gerry said. “You start thinking maybe
I won’t be able to do jiu-jitsu or surf. To
be able to come back—it’s like, wow!”