Putting Lots of Miles on his St. Jude Medical Valve

Bud Schaefer has a philosophy in life: You only go around once, so live life to its fullest! To that he adds the importance of doing things you love. For Bud, it's always been travel. And in the 14 years since he received a St. Jude Medical® mechanical heart valve in 1990, Bud Schaefer has put lots of miles on his new valve.

The trouble with Bud’s native mitral valve began in March of 1990, not long after he had returned from a three month stay in India. He began sweating and described feeling “congested” in his chest. Over the next couple of weeks the symptoms continued, as Bud sought a diagnosis. An echocardiogram revealed that Bud’s mitral valve was leaking, a condition known as mitral insufficiency, due to some ruptured chordae tendineae. The chordae are string-like projections under the leaflets of the mitral valve. When the heart contracts, the valve leaflets close and the taut chordae support the leaflets, preventing blood from leaking backward. Bud learned that he needed surgery to repair or replace the valve.

“I was scared to have the surgery,” Bud admitted, “but I was scared not to have it. I wanted to move forward before something really bad happened.” Bud’s surgeons discussed the question of tissue versus mechanical valve with Bud before surgery, and all were in agreement: if Bud needed a new valve, a St. Jude Medical® mechanical valve would be implanted because of Bud’s age (at the time, Bud was 54).  For younger patients, tissue valves carry an increased risk of reoperation due to their limited durability (10-15 years).

Once the procedure was underway, the surgeons had a chance to assess the condition of Bud’s native mitral valve. All of Bud’s chordae were elongated, preventing the leaflets from closing properly—replacement was the most feasible course. The surgery went well, and Bud was released from the hospital a week later.

After a short, uneventful recovery period, during which Bud worked part time (he was, and still is, self-employed), Bud began planning his next trip, which took him up and down the coast of Oregon and Washington in the USA. The first big adventure trip came a few years later, when Bud spent five weeks on a 5,000-mile Land Rover trip in Namibia, southwest Africa. During that time, he hiked in the Great Namib Desert, saw some of the world’s largest red sand dunes, and photographed various wildlife (great elephants, rhino, lions, and various raptors) in Etosha National Park and the Kalahari Desert. View photos from Bud's trips around the world.

The following year, in 1994, Bud spent five weeks in a biologist’s camp in the Amazon rain forest of Peru. “We fished for piranha in dugout canoes, camped in remote areas and saw macaws, parrots, sloth, crocodiles, large butterflies, spiders, and other insects, and swam with endangered pink dolphins,” said Bud. “We also reclaimed a large Anaconda snake and caiman and released them back into the wild, and we spent time with the local Indians—including their witch doctor,” he added. Bud also learned about various herbal/medicinal plants.

Before the valve surgery, early on in Bud’s international business career, he spent many years with Allergan Pharmaceuticals, setting up business operations in some 75 countries. After that, Bud began working on his own, investing in different corporations. He also started doing some adventure travel. On one trip, Bud trekked through the Himalayas; on another, he climbed Kilimanjaro in Africa; on yet another, he completed the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. Bud had also gone on safari throughout Africa and been charged by lions and encountered more than his share of crocodiles.

After the valve surgery, Bud returned to Africa—to Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. He also spent time in England, Scotland, and at Oxford University. He’s even driven cattle in Montana. This fall, Bud will try something very different: he’ll travel to the outback of Australia.

Through all Bud’s travels since the valve replacement procedure, he has managed to keep his warfarin levels constant. He continues to get monthly checks and even arranges for warfarin checks ahead of time, if he happens to be on the road. “Every once in a while, they’ll have an adjustment to make, but, for the most part, I haven’t had any issues with anticoagulation therapy in 14 years,” he stated. “I follow my doctor’s orders to the letter,” he added, “and I feel this is key to staying within my target range.” Bud also returns to his cardiologist every six months for a thorough check-up. He stays active now, through tennis, dancing, and swimming, but he also admits, “I probably won’t climb Kilimanjaro again.”

For Bud Schaefer, having a mechanical valve implanted 14 years ago hasn’t changed the way he does things or how he thinks. He’s just immensely grateful that he’s able to continue living life to the fullest, as he always has. For Bud, that means filling his life with people and experiences. And lots of travel. He has adventures to plan, places to visit, and countries to see. After all, he’s only been to 101 countries. Wanna bet he’ll make it well beyond 102?