Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute
Patient Stories
"It’s been 40 years since I moved away from Sacramento, but I’m pretty much back now," says Wave. She technically resides in Riverside, but has been spending most of her time in Sacramento living with and caring for her 94-year-old mother and 57-year-old brother, Knowland.
"Poor Knowland’s had it rough. He was born with a heart murmur and has struggled with a learning disability for his entire life. Several years ago he needed to have valve replacement surgery and had an artificial valve put in his heart. After that procedure, he did fairly well for a few years. But then he started to get sick," explains Wave. "Knowland was bleeding out, his heart wasn’t working. He spent several days in the hospital. We didn’t know it at the time, but that was the first of several hospital stays for Knowland that year."
Over the next months, Knowland battled a slew of health problems from diabetes complications and severe water retention to breathing difficulty and liver and kidney failure. "I don’t even know how many times he was admitted into the hospital, nor how many doctors he has," says Wave. "But I do know one thing: every person we’ve encountered at Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute is compassionate, patient and extraordinarily qualified. The doctors, the receptionists, and especially the nurses – they take such good care of Knowland and he appreciates it."
Malcolm McHenry, M.D., has been Knowland’s cardiologist for many years. "My brother really likes Dr. McHenry, and I can tell that Dr. McHenry really cares about Knowland," says Wave. "All of Dr. McHenry’s staff know Knowland and greet him whenever we visit. In fact, nearly everyone at Sutter’s Heart Failure Clinic and Diabetes Center knows my brother. Each of them is very kind and accommodating to us. It’s kind of like an extended family visit every time we have an appointment!"
Since he was young, Knowland has wanted to travel internationally. "We had a trip to China scheduled so we could see my mom’s village, but Knowland had to back out when he got sick again," says Wave. "He started to focus on a visiting San Francisco since that was more realistic for his condition, but his doctors advised against it. After a while, they finally gave permission for Knowland to go to San Francisco for one day. That was enough to boost his spirits for a long time. I think the people at Sutter understand there’s an emotional component to helping the body heal. The trip to the city did wonders for Knowland. He now lives for San Francisco trips – they provide motivation for healthy living."
Since she returned to Sacramento, Wave has been helping to keep Knowland on a healthy diet. "Low sodium and low fat – those are the rules. Knowland loves to eat, so it takes a lot of willpower to eat healthfully, but he listens to me. He listens to his doctors and nurses, too. Knowland doesn’t like to miss work, so he tries hard to stay healthy," Wave says. For almost two decades, Knowland has worked in a customer service position at a mail and office services store. "He loves helping people make copies of their pictures, that’s his favorite part since he is very interested in photography. I think he’s a happier person when he’s at work, so we do our best to keep him healthy."
Wave acknowledges that it’s a team effort to keep Knowland’s health in check. "The nurses and advisors really help us out," she says. "He had trouble tracking his weight because of his learning disability – he was supposed to write down the date and his weight every day. One of the nurses at Sutter suggested we put a calendar by his scale, so he just has to write down his weight on the calendar. That worked! It’s little things like that which make this whole process easier."
Because of his learning disability and the effects of all of his medications, Knowland sometimes has trouble conveying his ailments to his doctors. "But they are so patient and understanding with him," says Wave. "The people at Sutter really care about him and accommodate his unique needs. Even though he has plenty of challenges ahead, Knowland and I believe that he’s much better off because of the people at Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute."