Once I got the diagnosis, I was really confused because I didn’t know what HCM was. They basically told me that I had an enlarged heart and my left ventricle walls were really abnormally thick. I had to do a lot of research on that. I was really scared because they told me that because I went into ventricular fibrillation (a life-threatening arrhythmia) that it can happen again. So, they implanted an ICD-pacemaker. I was just overwhelmed because not knowing I had this all along was a whole lot to process!

They told me that my lifestyle would have to change. There’s a lot of things that I would not be able to do. I’m a guy that was active. I participated in sports, activities, and playing with my grandkids. Not being able to do that anymore full-speed like I used to was really devastating to me.

After I got my defibrillator implant, the doctor asked me “I understand you’re a police officer, right? Is there any other job you could do?” From right there, I knew my career was over. 

The doctor also asked me about my family history. I told him that my father had died of heart failure at 58 years old. He recommended genetic testing for my siblings, 6 children, and 5 grandchildren. I told my siblings and my children to get the genetic testing. It pretty much fell on deaf ears. In January of 2020, I lost my brother to sudden cardiac arrest, and I was there to see him take his last breath. I’m still pushing my family members to get tested.