Hope for the Holidays: Celebrating Life After Four Open-heart Surgeries

Hey Heart Buddies! I'm Boots Knighton, your guide through our special holiday series, "Hope for the Holidays." Today, we're revisiting a truly inspiring story that embodies resilience and hope in its purest form. Our guest is none other than Bill Wingate, a remarkable individual hailing from Birmingham, Alabama. Bill’s journey is a testament to the human spirit, having endured four major open-heart surgeries, seven heart valve replacements, and numerous other procedures over 27 years.

In this episode, Bill opens up about the emotional, mental, and spiritual challenges he faced, especially after his most recent surgery in early 2023. He shares how hope, love, and gratitude have been his guiding lights through the darkest days.

But that’s not all—Bill has a special message for all of us about the power of hope and living life fully, no matter the hand you’ve been dealt. You'll also hear about his exciting new writing project, which aims to inspire others through heartfelt stories.

Listen to his original episode here.

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Join the Patreon Community! The Joyful Beat zoom group is where you'll find connection and hope that you aren't alone in your journey.

If you just want to support the show as a one-time gift (thank you), go here.

**I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Be sure to check in with your care team about all the next right steps for you and your heart.**

How to connect with Boots

Email: [e-mail]

Instagram: @openheartsurgerywithboots or @boots.knighton

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/boots-knighton

Boots Knighton

If you enjoyed this episode, take a minute and share it with someone you know who will find value in it as well.

Mentioned in this episode:

Heart Valve Voice-US

Check out Heart Valve Voice - US, an incredible resource for heart valve patients in the US and abroad.

HVV-US

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Life is still good. People are inherently
amazing and just because something happens to
you doesn't mean that you were wronged. This the hand that you have been
dealt. Play it because this is your journey in life and there are
going to be some amazing parts of it. Enjoy it.
Welcome to Open Heart Surgery with Boots and our

(00:23):
special holiday series, Hope for the
Holidays. Ta da. I'm Boots Knighton, and
this season we're revisiting some of our most inspiring
stories. Guests who faced daunting heart
surgeries and have beaten the odds and are
now thriving reminders of resilience and

(00:44):
hope. This series is our way of celebrating
not only their strength, but also showcasing
that hope is possible for all of us in times
of struggle. If you love the podcast,
please consider joining our Patreon community. You can find
us at patreon.com

(01:05):
openheartsurgerywithboots that will help keep this
podcast on the air and these stories coming. Of
course I want to hear from you. Send me your feedback, your
concerns, your best recipes for
holiday cookies, whatever feels good to you. I want to hear from
you. You can send me an email
bootsheartchamber podcast.com

(01:28):
without further ado, I'm so excited to bring you today's
guest and I can't wait to hear from you. Welcome back
to another episode of Open Heart Surgery with Boots. I
am so thrilled to be doing this series of Hope
for the Holidays where I am bringing back
guests that have been on the podcast kind of really from the

(01:50):
beginning. I'm going way back into
2023. Of course, that's not very long ago, but it
feels like it when I put out an episode every single week.
And this week I wanted to bring back Bill Wingate
from Birmingham, Alabama. And Bill, thank you so
much for coming back. You have just become such a great heart

(02:12):
buddy of mine. And I want to also call
out Bill and thank Bill publicly for financially supporting
this podcast, for sending me words of
encouragement, and for just meeting me with grace as I fumble
through this learning curve that is hosting a podcast.
And so one of the reasons why I keep showing up every

(02:35):
week are for people like Bill. And I think
that once you hear his quick update on how he's
doing, you will feel the same. So, Bill, welcome
back, my friend. Well, Boots, thank you for the opportunity yet again
to join you and talk with you and as well
as people who listen to this who are also heart patients, because

(02:57):
there are an awful lot of us around and it's not something that you
usually don't find them in your everyday life. So it's great for you. You've
built this community to where it is now. Thank you. Thank you. So
give us the 50,000 foot view of. And I should
say before you do that, listeners, I am going to have his original
episode in the show notes. And holy cow, is it

(03:19):
worth listening to. He did such an incredible job when
we recorded his episode of telling his story. So do consider
going back and listening to that. But Bill, give us again like
the Cliff Notes of the last 27 years. Well,
the past 27 years I have been a substantial
heart patient. I was in College in 1997 and learned

(03:42):
that I had aortic stenosis and regurgitation, which several
months after I learned this information led me to my
first of four, as of today, open heart surgeries.
And so in these past 27 years, I've had a total load, as I
said, four opens. I've had seven heart valves replaced,
I've had numerous heart caps, I've had all kinds

(04:04):
of crazy test and procedures done. I've had from blood
issues to unusual infections from
the dental office. So it has been a long
run of highs and lows. And I feel
like at this point I've gotten to be a really good patient. And
I had a heart surgeon look at me after my last surgery saying, you've got

(04:26):
to find a new hobby. Open heart surgery is not the best one for you.
So hopefully we're on a run that I don't have to do it again. So
is the hope and the prayer. So that's what we are hoping for.
And so that's, that's my story in a nutshell. And seven valves,
four opens, and a lot of other junk to go along the way. Yeah, yeah,
junk is right. But here you are and you're doing great. Like

(04:48):
looking at you through the screen, you would never know that you
have been on the adventure that you've been on. So
where you're at now, where do you stand
emotionally, spiritually, mentally?
That's a, that's a great question because I had my last surgery in
January of 2023 and that one

(05:10):
did a lot more damage to me
mentally or and emotionally than I would even say physically.
The, the physical recovery was, I'll describe it as typical to the rest of
mine. Um, it wasn't bad. It was a couple months and you
felt pretty good. Emotionally, I was a mess. It took a
while. And just the gravity of four major surgeries

(05:32):
and all the anesthesia and all the weird
one offs that have really. That I've survived hit me
hard and I started a writing project during this
time trying to figure out how to tell my story. And it's evolved over the
past year and a half. But it all comes down to where all
my current work is. And it's all about telling stories of

(05:54):
hope, love and gratitude in everything that we do. And with those
three values, you can get through almost anything and it changes your
perspective on everything that you do. And so that has really
helped me get through the emotional hurdles of the past
20 plus years, 27 years now. But it's, it's a work in progress
every day and it's a great opportunity that I have and I want to be

(06:16):
sure to share, share it as I go along. And we'll have that in the
show notes too. And what has
been the common thread through the 27
years that has been maybe the most
supportive or most helpful for you? For me, it
is, it is having hope and everything all

(06:37):
constantly around me and having hope for what is to come next because there
have been times where it couldn't have gotten any worse. And then being
grateful for everything that is around you and everything that
you get to experience. And yes, I've had
heart surgery. I've had it more than once. But that's
okay. The sun will come up tomorrow. I have, I have all

(06:59):
the hope in the world that the sun will come up tomorrow. Tomorrow will be
a be a better day. And some days they're
not, but most days they are. And that is what matters.
The days that you don't have hope or the darker days,
what gets you. Through the day on those days, I've just got to
cut myself a little bit more slack and I've got to be a little more

(07:19):
patient with myself. And after all that I've, I've been
through so far, I do have days that are like I physically
don't feel as good as I did the day before. And generally it's something
that I've done. I've burned the candle at both ends. I've gotten a pearly state
up late, done something I shouldn't have done, or I don't have the physical stamina
that I, a typical 48 year old would have. But then again, I am almost

(07:41):
50, so we can debate that in multiple different ways. But
I've got to be nicer to myself. And I've got to say, okay,
today's not going to be the day that I'm going to get 25 things on
my to do list done. I'm going to be happy with 10. And so I've
got to, I've just got to reframe the day and reframe the expectations. And
I'm very grateful that my daughter and my wife, they understand that.

(08:02):
Yeah. And so some days, some days are better than others and I'm. But
I'm very thankful these days that there are
much, much more good days than there are not so good
days. And that that feeling,
an act of hope is everything, isn't it? An act of
hope is everything. And that has really

(08:23):
become apparent to me over the past couple of weeks because
at the end of September I had my routine follow up with my surgeon, which
I had been doing over the past 10 years. We had been doing a,
a check in or a follow up scan every three, four
or six months. And so for the first time in 10 years, I get to
go an entire year between CT scans and

(08:44):
visiting with my surgeon, which is, it's bittersweet. I mean, it's a
great thing that I can live beyond the three month increment and enjoy
life and what's going to unfold before us. But these are friends that we've
made. These are parts of our family that I don't, that I've got to go
find other ways to meet up with them and catch up with them. But I
will take it. It's a win. And I'm looking forward to not walking

(09:06):
into that clinic nearly as frequent because I have a little bit of
PTSD every time I walk, every time I walk in the doors. Am I
walking out of this today as well? Right. Because sometimes you didn't get to walk
out. Some days I didn't get to. They would admit me. Yes.
Or I get to walk out and make my own decisions about what, what the
rest of the week at week holds. But, but I am very grateful for

(09:28):
the experiences I've had. I have great hope and
the research that is going on in this field. And in my 27
years, what I think is really neat and this is my
crazy view of reality, how the field of
cardiac thoracic medicine has changed in the 27
years. How the types of anesthesia they use

(09:51):
is so much better and easier on the body for me at least than it
was 27 years ago. Little things like that that I'm
very grateful for and I'm hoping in another 27 years that it's
even surpassed everything we could imagine. Yeah. My hope is
that they're doing all valve replacements through like the femoral
artery or something instead of opening a. I'm all for it. Wouldn't that be.

(10:13):
That's a walk. That's a walk in the park to have that done. I've. I've
had one of those. Yeah, that's easy. What a
perspective you have that really, I don't know many other heart patients
have, for better or for worse. And in closing,
going back 27 years, what would you
tell yourself? Like, if you could go back as you're starting

(10:34):
this journey telling your younger self, hey, you're about to
go through 27 years of really hard
stuff, right? What do you want that younger part of you to
know? Well, I mean, life is still good. People
are inherently amazing. And just
because something happens to you doesn't mean that you were wronged. You've just

(10:55):
been this the hand that you have been dealt. Play it. Because this is your
journey in life and there are going to be some amazing parts of
it. Enjoy it. This is going to be a time. There's going to be a
little bit of suffering, there's going to be some trials, but there's going to be
some tribulations as well. So enjoy it. And what
can you take from your experiences to
encourage teachers and enhance

(11:18):
the next generation? And this is why I invited you back on for the
series. You always have the most amazing wisdom and
perspective to share with others. And I, for one, benefit
greatly. So thank you, Bill, Wendy, and
can you just verbalize to us how listeners can find you should they want to
reach out? Well, Boots, before I do that, I thank you

(11:41):
for going on this journey and connecting heart
patients together because I have met several people that have been on the
podcast and told their story and it's fun to connect with other people who
have similar experiences, especially that are
younger than the typical open heart patient.
And so that has been a met, has been a lot of fun to meet.

(12:03):
But over the past year and a half, I've started my own writing project. It
is the start of what I'm hoping is a manuscript, a book. We're
still working through that, but you can find
[e-mail] just like it sounds.
And it is, it is different. Post in a newsletter that is focusing
on hope, love and gratitude in everything that we do and everything that

(12:24):
we experience. Your future is bright. May you stay out of the
cath lab. Yes, please. I hope, I hope. Well, thank
you Bill and thank you listeners. And please
do consider becoming part of our Patreon
community. You can find the link in the show notes. This
podcast is only elevated by those

(12:46):
who support it and it definitely gives me a little wind in my
sails when I hear from listeners, so you can also send me an email
bootsheartchamber podcast.com
this podcast was formerly named the Heart Chamber. And do be
be sure to come back next week for another installment of
Hope for the Holidays. I love you, you matter and your

(13:08):
heart is your best friend.