Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery, Close to Home

The cruise was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, Denise Reilley found herself in a hospital far from home, struggling to breathe and facing a diagnosis that would require urgent heart surgery.

What came next wasn’t just about treatment, but where to turn for care she could trust.

For Denise and her husband, Mike, the trip was meant to mark a new chapter – time together, milestones and life slowing down after years of work and raising a large family.

But just after leaving port, she began to feel off.

Denise had asthma, so when shortness of breath crept in, she assumed it was familiar territory – possibly a reaction to down pillows or something in the air. She tried to manage it quietly, using her rescue inhaler and telling herself it would pass. She didn’t want to ruin the trip.

“I thought, I’ve got this, I’ll be fine,” Denise remembers. But she wasn’t sleeping well and breathing was becoming harder – even painful. Eventually, she reached a point where lying flat wasn’t possible and sitting upright was the only way she could breathe comfortably.

That’s when she decided to go to the ship’s medical bay just to have her vitals checked.

The Moment It Stopped Feeling Like Asthma

When she arrived at the ship’s medical bay, the nurse immediately saw that something wasn’t right. Denise’s oxygen level was in the mid‑80s – dangerously low. She was taken into the back, placed on oxygen, started on IVs and monitored closely.

“It was scary,” Denise says. “But at the same time, you’re so thankful that someone sees you and says, yes, you are not okay — and we’re going to help you.”

Doctors recommended that Denise and Mike disembark in Cozumel and go directly to a hospital. There, further testing revealed that Denise was in congestive heart failure, a diagnosis that caught her completely off guard.

“I couldn’t even say those words,” she recalls. “I thought, that’s for someone else. That’s not for me.”

For Mike, a retired surgeon, the diagnosis quickly clarified what they were facing. Imaging showed that Denise wasn’t just dealing with a heart condition, she had severe mitral valve regurgitation. One of the valve leaflets had ruptured, causing blood to flow backward with every heartbeat. That sudden valve failure was driving her heart failure symptoms.

The focus of her care shifted immediately – from treating what looked like a lung issue to stabilizing her heart so she could travel safely.

Getting Home and Getting Moving

Once Denise was stable, the priority became getting her home and getting answers.

While still in Mexico, Denise and Mike notified their primary care physician, who arranged for Denise to be seen by a heart specialist as soon as they arrived home. An appointment was scheduled with Dr. Shola Adekoya, a cardiologist with St. Elizabeth, giving them the reassurance that things were already in motion.

When they landed, Denise was transported directly to the St. Elizabeth hospital in Edgewood, where her condition was reassessed and stabilized. Testing confirmed what doctors abroad had already identified – Denise’s valve was severely damaged. She needed heart surgery, and she needed it soon.

Complicating matters, Denise and Mike had only recently relocated to Newport, Kentucky a few months ago. They didn’t have years of local relationships to rely on. “We didn’t know who to go to,” Denise says plainly. “We just knew we had to move quickly.”

This wasn’t a situation where decisions could unfold slowly. Denise’s condition was serious and the outcome would depend not just on having surgery – but on how that surgery was performed.

Why Minimally Invasive Became the Goal

For Denise, the idea of open‑heart surgery felt daunting. She worried about pain. About recovery. About how long before she would feel like herself again.

“I’m a baby when it comes to pain,” she says honestly. “I wanted something that would make recovery easier.”

For Mike, with decades of surgical experience, he knew the approach mattered. Once the immediate crisis passed, he began researching options – focusing on approaches that would be less traumatic for Denise’s body and allow for a smoother recovery.

“At first, all we cared about was getting her healthy,” Mike says. “But once I really looked at the different techniques, I felt strongly she would do better with a minimally invasive repair.”

Denise focused on what she could picture. “The most important thing to me was that they wouldn’t need to open my chest,” she says. “If they had to, of course I trusted that. But knowing they probably wouldn’t made such a difference in how I felt going in.”

They explored options, including going elsewhere. But timing mattered. So did finding an approach that would give Denise the best chance of a smoother recovery. And when they learned that minimally invasive mitral valve repair was available close to home, the decision began to take shape.

When they met Dr. Mario Castillo‑Sang, a cardiac surgeon at St. Elizabeth, that momentum solidified.

For Denise, it was a feeling. “When I first met Dr. Mario, I could tell he was very confident,” she says. “And I needed that confidence going in, to know that everything was going to be okay.”

For Mike, it was clarity. He asked questions. He studied the plan. And he could see that the technique, the preparation, and the surgeon’s enthusiasm all aligned with what he had been hoping for, not just as a husband, but as a peer. “I could tell how excited he was to fix the problem,” Mike says. “That’s what you want in a surgeon.”

Care That Felt Connected

After surgery, Denise didn’t describe her experience in terms of procedures or checklists. What stayed with her were the moments that made her feel safe when she was at her most vulnerable.

“There were so many moments when I was in the hospital that I just marveled at how wonderful they were,” she says. She remembers an aide who sat with her when she wasn’t feeling well, not because it was required, but because it mattered. Another treated her as if she had “nothing else to do,” even though Denise knew that wasn’t true.

For Mike, that attentiveness reflected something much larger.

“The pre‑op and post‑op care is almost as important as the surgery,” he explains. What impressed him most was how seamless the entire experience was – from pre‑operative planning to ICU care to rehabilitation and follow‑up.

“As a surgeon, I really appreciated how cohesive it all was,” he says. “The care didn’t feel fragmented. It was smooth from start to finish.”

He explains why that matters in practical terms. When patients go outside of their region for complex surgery and then return home, complications don’t respect geography. You could end up in a local ER where no one knows your history, your doctors or what was done. That disconnect can add stress and risk at the exact moment patients need clarity.

With Denise’s care, that disconnect never existed.

A Life-Changing Journey

When Denise thinks about the emotional impact of everything she went through, she doesn’t start with surgery. She starts with family.

Before surgery, while still in Mexico, she remembers calling each of her children one by one – not to alarm them, but to make sure they knew how much they mattered to her. “That was a life‑changing moment for me,” she says. “It clarified what’s important.”

Now, after surgery, those priorities haven’t faded. She makes those calls. She lets quiet moments matter. “That’s been the biggest gift,” she says.

When Denise says, “the best care is right here,” she means it. “It’s so reassuring,” she says. “So many people need to know that you don’t have to question where you’re going? Because it’s right here.”

Mike agrees – and he doesn’t say that lightly. “I’ve been in world‑class institutions,” he says. “And the level of care Denise received here exceeded my expectations.”

For a story that began with fear, uncertainty and a diagnosis that didn’t feel real, the ending is simple.

They didn’t have to keep searching. They didn’t have to go elsewhere. They found what they needed – close to home.

There’s No Place Like Home

For Denise, what began as a frightening, unexpected diagnosis became something else – clarity, confidence and a deeper appreciation for the thing that matters most – her family. She didn’t have to search far to find the care she needed, and she didn’t have to question whether she made the right choice.

She knows she did.

To schedule a cardiology appointment, call (859) 287‑3045. For a cardiac surgery consultation, call (859) 301‑9010. Or visit our website, www.stelizabeth.com/heart.