'I got my life back.' UK HealthCare patient has new outlook after heart treatment.

“A year ago, I was planning my funeral.”

In October 2021, 45-year-old Ben Allen sat down with his girlfriend and told her what he wanted his funeral to look like. He thought ahead to Christmas, the last one he would spend with his kids.

“I was in a dark place and had already given up on life,” Allen said. 

Allen was experiencing advanced heart failure. He was worn out and had so little energy he couldn’t climb a flight of stairs without taking a break. His relationships with his girlfriend and children suffered.

Allen suffered an anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), commonly known as a “widow maker.” He underwent a five-and-a-half-hour surgery at a hospital in Wyoming to restore blood flow and repair the damage.

A few months later, Allen and his girlfriend moved to Springfield, Kentucky, and established care with a cardiologist at Ephraim-McDowell Health in Danville. There, he had surgery to place four stents in his artery. Six months later, he had two more stents placed.

It was during that procedure that his surgeon observed something strange.

“The doctor lined the whole left anterior descending artery with stents,” Allen said. “He couldn’t keep it from collapsing. The artery was collapsing every time my heart beat, starving my heart of oxygen. And he’s watching it happen. So, they pulled every stent out and sent me to UK.”

Allen was referred to Gill Heart & Vascular Institute at UK HealthCare. Part of the statewide Gill Affiliate Network, Ephraim-McDowell Health and UK HealthCare work together to connect patients with rare, severe illnesses to specialists for further evaluation and treatment.

Allen underwent open-heart surgery to replace the left anterior descending artery with his mammary artery. He followed up regularly with surgeon Dr. Michael Sekela and started feeling better than he had in years.

“I had energy back,” Allen said. “I could breathe again. It took some time because it damaged me mentally and physically.”

Allen went back to work as a regional field manager for O’Reilly Auto Parts. He was traveling more than he was home, spending up to four nights a week on the road.

“I was getting beat up every day, but I kept going,” he said. “That led to some issues. I was having some crazy heart palpitations.”

In advanced heart failure, often the only options are a heart transplant or the implantation of a left ventricle assistive device (LVAD) to mechanically pump the blood.

But Gill providers took a different approach.

Milrinone is an intravenous drug used to treat heart failure by increasing heart muscle strength and widening blood vessels. It is administered through a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line, which allows the drug to be administered through veins close to the heart.

Allen spent 15 days at the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, not just getting the PICC line placed, but also getting evaluated for a heart transplant.

“That was on the 28th,” Allen said. “On the 29th, I was up moving around, walking on my own, feeling pretty decent. I had newfound energy. I actually walked so much that I didn’t run out of breath. My legs had turned to Jell-O because I hadn’t walked that much in forever.”

At some point, Allen will need a heart transplant or an LVAD. But he says he’s not ready to think about that right now because he feels his life at this point in time is exactly where he wants it to be.

‘I wish you could see the change in me'

Allen is back to work full-time while also enjoying spending time with his girlfriend and daughter.

Weekends are spent at car shows and festivals. When his family is tired and ready to go home, Allen is just getting started.

“I wish you could see the change in me,” Allen said. “I’ve dropped 30 pounds and gained a ton of muscle. I’m healthier, I’m fitter. I feel better than I have in over a decade.” 

In August 2023, Ben's daughter graduated from boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Center. She's planning on becoming an air traffic controller. Allen was able to attend her graduation at the training center north of Chicago. 

"This is all because of UK, the Doctors, the Nurses, and all the staff. I got to be a part of my daughter Jamy's proudest moment of her life so far," Allen said.

A year ago, Allen wasn’t thinking about his future – because he didn’t think he would have one. 

But now, that future has taken on even more meaning.

Allen and his girlfriend discovered earlier this year they were expecting a baby. A boy, which Allen and his girlfriend will name after each of their grandfathers, is due in November.

“Last year, being well enough to have a baby would have been out of the question,” he said. “Now, I’m physically fit enough to remodel the house and convert our library into a nursery.”