When an emergency brought 42-year-old Dov to UHN, he wasn’t sure if he’d survive. Today he’s alive and well and wants to say thanks.
WATCH DOV TELL HIS STORY
Dov Markowich was working from home in early February 2022 when a sharp pain tore through his chest, down to his lower back. While it was a pain unlike anything he’d ever experienced he hoped it would go away on its own.
Only a minute later he was flat on the floor, unable to stand from the pain and calling 911 for help.
The 42-year-old was rushed to Toronto Western Hospital, part of University Health Network (UHN), and assessed by Emergency Department physicians. They recognized the urgency of the situation and Dov was again rushed by ambulance to UHN’s Toronto General Hospital, where a specialized team was waiting to repair an aortic dissection a serious and often deadly condition where the wall of the body’s main artery is torn, causing blood to pool in the heart and the aorta to split.
“As I laid there looking up at all the faces around the operating table, I started tearing up,” says Dov. That’s when it hit me emotionally, thinking that these could potentially be the last faces I would see.”
Thankfully, Dov woke up after the seven-hour surgery to see his dad’s smiling face, grateful to be alive.
To express his gratitude, Dov made a donation to UHN Foundation through the Honour Your Hero program. Honour Your Hero allows patients and their loved ones to recognize their care providers and share a message of gratitude with them, while also making a gift in support of research, education and the enhancement of patient care at UHN.
“I can’t thank the physicians, nurses and staff at UHN enough for saving my life, along with all the other lives that they tend to and care for,” says Dov. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Do you have a hero who works at UHN? Say thanks with a gift today.