Shirley Healey was diagnosed with mesenteric ischemia. The main artery to her intestines was blocked, and she’d lost over 50 pounds waiting for medical care. Her vascular surgeon, Robert Ellett, said “The last patient I had with exactly the same problem, he waited for three months and he lost so much weight it looked like he had come from a concentration camp. I operated, but he died 10 days post-op. He basically starved to death.”

Dr. Ellet informed Shirley and her husband that the waiting time for surgery would be 6-8 weeks, and told them what happened to his last patient with the same condition. Shirley’s husband wanted to go to the US, and the doctor said he would, too. Shirley Healey had her surgery in the USA.