Mason City Father & Grandfather Received Lifesaving Heart Care At MercyOne North Iowa Heart Center

February 20, 2024

Said Receiving Highest Level Of Cardiology Care 10 Minutes From Home Was Priceless.

In August 2023, Kevin Scharper, 65, a Mason City resident and retired social worker in the North Iowa area public schools, was out mowing his lawn and started to feel really exhausted. “My energy was zapped. I just felt terrible,” said Kevin.

“I had the same type of feeling when I had stones in the bile duct of my gall bladder a few months earlier, so I drove myself immediately to the emergency department at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center and called my wife Jill, a pharmacist. I said, ‘I am at the ED. I feel exhausted and I have soreness in my shoulder. She asked if my jaw hurt, which it did, and she said, Kevin — you are having or going to have a heart attack.”

Said Kevin, “My dad had a heart attack at 52 years old, and I hadn’t even thought about how my family history could affect me.”

“In the ED, they rushed me into the Cath lab, and I did have a heart attack on the table,“ said Kevin. Mason City Clinic’s Dr. Fayez Siddiqui, an interventional cardiologist at MercyOne North Iowa Heart Center placed two stents in Kevin’s heart. He was scheduled to come back in September for additional stents. At that appointment Mason City Clinic’s Michael del Rio, MD, cardiac surgeon at MercyOne North Iowa Heart Center, explained to Kevin that based on his age he would be better served to have a triple bypass.

Said Kevin, “We knew a surgeon in Des Moines who could do the operation in November. But Dr. del Rio was very confident about the surgery for me, and I trusted him immediately. So, we had a clear vision to move forward with him.”

“On October 4, 2023, I had a triple bypass. The surgery took 5-6 hours. In recovery, I had a whole team of doctors and nurses coming into the room. They all had their regiment. They run a tight ship and I was so well taken care of. A surprise to me was I got to see a lot of the kids I worked with or knew from the schools who are now nurses,” said Kevin.

“We were also very appreciative and thankful to the nurses who allowed us to share our faith with them. They embraced it.”

“My rehab has been going well and getting better every day. We are big hikers and are looking forward to some big hiking trips soon – to Banff, to Glacier National Park to put our feet in the Grinnell glacier waters, and to the Grand Tetons. We are also grandparents to four little ones. And we need to be healthy and active for them.”

“One very special part of this experience was my wife was able to be with me in the hospital all day and then she could drive home 10 minutes to sleep. That is what we needed. I don’t know if there is a price on that.”