SOMERS POINT — When Ken “Casey” Adams turned 73 on Aug. 31, 2022, he had no plans to slow down.
The carpenter often worked 12-hour days as the facilities manager of Sifting Sands Condo-Motel in Ocean City and was looking forward to his 55th reunion with his Ocean City High School class of ’67 friends at the end of the month. He also had a Bermuda trip in October and a new hardwood floor to install at the Marmora home he shares with his wife, Gene.
But shortly after the reunion, Adams received a startling diagnosis at Shore Medical Center that would require open heart surgery and sideline him for months — he had congestive hearts failure.
His health care journey began about a week after the reunion when Adams realized the steroids he was taking for a sinus infection weren’t working.
“I could hardly breathe after going up the stairs. I said to my wife, ‘I need to go back to urgent care,’” he said.
From urgent care, his wife drove him to Shore Medical Center where he would discover whether he had pneumonia — or worse.
“Shore’s ER staff were waiting for me with a wheelchair when I arrived. Everyone was wonderful,” Adams said.
Within minutes he was heading in for chest imaging, which revealed he was suffering heart failure instead of pneumonia. He was admitted to Shore’s ICU where he continued to receive care.
For a “project” of this magnitude, the carpenter needed a good “general contractor.” That person was cardiologist Dr. Millee Singh with Penn Cardiology Somers Point, part of the Shore campus.
“Dr. Singh saw me in the ER and in the ICU. She ordered more testing. That’s when I met Dr. Bill,” Adams said.
“Dr. Bill” is Penn Medicine interventional cardiologist Dr. William Matthai, who conducted Adams’ heart catheterization in Shore’s state-of-the-art full-service Cardiac Catheterization Lab.
Matthai weaved a long tube through a blood vessel in Adams’ wrist all the way to the heart and performed a series of tests to measure the pressure and capture images of his heart arteries. The tests would reveal the full picture of his arterial blockages and heart function, so Singh and surgeon Dr. Marisa Cevasco at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia could coordinate his surgery and care plan.
From start to finish, the Adamses were beyond impressed with the care he received both at Shore and Penn. Until this experience, they were not aware of the close relationship between Shore and Penn Medicine.
“I was surprised to see Dr. Bill after my surgery. I saw him at Shore, and then I saw him up at Penn. In fact, he came in to see me almost every day after surgery,” Adams said. “I was fully confident in my care. I mean, they’re from Penn. You gotta respect that!”
Adams is now in the care of Singh at Penn Cardiology Somers Point. His recent cardiac testing shows an 85 percent to 90 percent improvement. Singh prescribed cardiac rehabilitation to help get Adams’ cardiovascular system conditioned while exercising under medical supervision and monitors them weekly.
Gene Adams said at first her husband didn’t see the necessity of cardiac rehab.
“We talked about the fact that he intends to continue working at Sifting Sands. Something as simple as carrying the ladder up the stairs, he needs to learn how to do that safely,” she said.
Adams admits he’s happy he is taking part in cardiac rehab.
“I felt, if it’s gonna help, I can’t say no. It’s weird because it does make you feel better. It makes your heart work, legs work and arms work. It’s not relaxing, but it’s stimulating.”
Gene Adams said her husband returns home proud of his accomplishments.
“He’s like a first-grader coming home from school, telling me how long he was on the machines,” she said.
They recently sat down with Matthai to reflect on the whole experience. They said they were especially thankful for his expertise, compassion and attention.
“You have to give Dr. Matthai a whole lot of credit. He just continued to keep us informed and feeling more confident in the care we were receiving,” Gene Adams said.