Man Marries His Fiancée Just Days After Undergoing Life-Saving Quadruple Bypass Surgery

Ken Woolsey had the surgery after suffering a heart attack while at work

NEED TO KNOW

• Wyoming man Ken Woolsey married his fiancée on Valentine’s Day, just days after undergoing a live-saving quadruple bypass surgery
• The 61-year-old had the procedure on Feb. 4 after suffering a heart attack while at work on Jan. 30
• “Nothing was going to stop us,” Woolsey said of his nuptials

Not even a major heart operation could stop Ken Woolsey from marrying his love on Valentine's Day.

The 61-year-old Wyoming man underwent a life-saving quadruple bypass surgery at Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper on Feb. 4 after suffering a heart attack while at work, according to a news release from Banner Health.

While cardiothoracic surgeon Joseph Monfre said that recovery from the procedure typically takes a couple of months, Woolsey was determined to stand at the altar with his fiancée, Lonna Heath Porter, at their planned wedding on Feb. 14.

"Open-heart surgery is a big deal, and it's an even bigger deal when you have a wedding," Monfre said. "We all had in the back of our heads that this Valentine's Day wedding was looming."

Woolsey recalled that everyone thought he was pushing it. His friends told him he needed to rest. “But I just wanted to marry her," he insisted.

Woolsey's health crisis began on Jan. 30. What started as a typical workday for the 61-year-old, who makes concrete forms, suddenly took a terrifying turn when he began to experience throbbing pains in his left arm and chest while pouring concrete.

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"I'd never had any heart trouble before," Woolsey said. "Then the pain went straight to my heart. I wasn't sure what was happening, so I got changed, and my boss took me to the emergency room." 

ER staff quickly determined that he was having a heart attack and would need open-heart surgery.

Monfre and cardiologist Gary Idelchik performed the quadruple bypass procedure five days later on Feb. 4.

Porter offered to delay the wedding — but Woolsey wouldn't hear of it.

"She said we could postpone, but I said I don't want to," Woolsey said. "We sent out the invites. This has been planned, and nothing — not even heart surgery — was going to stop us." 

Idelchik said having a hand in helping the groom realize his wedding dream is "why we do what we do." 

Now, Woolsey feels doubly lucky as he has a new lease on life and his beloved wife by his side.

"I'm getting my life back together," he said of his health ordeal. "And marrying her was the best way to start." 

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