Mistie Williams
Mistie Williams, a healthy, 42-year-old wife and mother of two was enjoying the Labor Day weekend with her family when she suddenly had a heart attack. She was taken to UT Health Tyler where Dr. Andrea Cooley performed a double bypass. Even after surgery, her heart was only functioning at 15%. She was transferred to a Dallas hospital for a heart transplant. When she got there, the doctors and nurses said that everything they did at UT Health Tyler saved her life. This is a truly remarkable story, featured in TylerToday about a woman who got a second chance at life. Read Mistie’s story here.
Brent and Donna Holt

Broken hearts CAN be mended. This is definitely true for Brent and Donna Holt, who together, conquered heart disease. In July 2019, Brent was showing signs of atrial fibrillation, but had other health conditions that made him too risky for surgery. In September 2019, Donna was diagnosed with a heart murmur. Both were referred to Dr. Vivek Patel at UT Health Tyler. On Oct. 9, 2019, Donna underwent mitral valve repair surgery. Just three weeks later on Oct. 30, Brent had the first MitraClip procedure in Tyler. Both procedures were a success, and the couple is continuing to recover. Read Brent and Donna’s story here.
John Vaughn

John Vaughn is back on the police force 15 years after suffering a heart attack that forced him into early retirement. Read his story here.