The luck of the Irish

Carole and William E. “Bill” Moore III, of Edgewater Park, thank the luck of the Irish for the good fortune that brought them to Deborah Heart and Lung Center.
The retired Willingboro biology teachers, who run Whitebriar Bed and Breakfast and The Green Café in their hometown, were in a head-on car accident in May 2008. After the crash, Bill’s body began swelling and holding water. Unknown to him, the seat-belt restraint had torn the tendons of his heart’s mitral valve, causing the swelling. For nine months, the Moores traveled from hospital to hospital in Philadelphia but nobody diagnosed Bill’s condition. Finally, an old school chum at the post office suggested Deborah.
“I felt so silly,” says Carole. “Bill said, ‘Why didn’t we think? There’s a world-renowned heart facility right here in Burlington County.’” The next day, Bill came to Deborah, his life-threatening condition was diagnosed, and surgery was scheduled right away.

An unnecessary wake
Bill reports he is of royal Irish blood—a direct descendant of Malliachia O’Moore, the last High King of Loesche, Ireland—so he considered it providential when his surgery was scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day. That procedure, however, had to wait until Bill held his traditional St. Patty’s Day celebrations, including a leprechaun hunt with his grandkids and an Irish party with friends. This time, however, Bill turned the Irish party into a formal Irish wake, with attendees dressed in black and green and written eulogies in hand.
After the celebrations, Bill came to Deborah for surgery. Cardiothoracic surgeon Arthur Ng, M.D., repaired the tear in the mitral valve, and Bill’s heart quickly returned to its normal size, working at 100 percent. Within a week after surgery, Bill lost 100 pounds and since then he’s been feeling great.
The Moores even consider Bill’s surgical experience an example of Irish luck. “After surgery,” says Carole, “Bill looked green from the antiseptic on his body. I told the kids that the leprechaun was in the operating room with Pop-pop.”
Bill says he feels remarkably well. “Thanks to surgery and rehabilitation at Deborah, I can shovel 600 feet of sidewalk and 250 feet of driveway and load and unload hay and 400 pounds of animal feed every two weeks. I’m truly a lucky man!”

Don’t travel for a diagnosis!
To learn more about the variety of cardiac and pulmonary services offered by Deborah, visit www.deborah.org.