OhioHealth Patient's Active Path to Open-Heart Surgery
Allison Grotelueschen has always been an active person despite being born with a severe heart condition.
“Movement is medicine, but it always has been. It just makes me feel better mentally. Not only physically, obviously it helps there. But mentally and psychologically, it’s my happy place,” Grotelueschen told NBC4 reporter, Eric Halperin.
She was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, which later caused severe stenosis, regurgitation and an aneurysm on her ascending aorta. Growing up, her heart problems didn’t cause many issues until 2021 when her primary care physician noticed a change in her heart murmur.
After being referred to a cardiologist, she was told that she would need heart surgery within the next 2 years. On July 25, 2024, Grotelueschen had a lifesaving open heart surgery at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital.
During that surgery, she was required to have her aortic valve and ascending aorta replaced. This was a significant chapter in her health journey that tested her strength, perseverance and active lifestyle.
Staying active is something that has kept Grotelueschen resilient and positive throughout her life. “I am a very active person. I need to be active, not just for my physical health but more so for my mental health,” Grotelueschen said.
She first received a Peloton bike in 2020, and since then she has not missed a day of doing something with Peloton. She expresses that riding her Peloton everyday helped to push her surgery back a year later than doctors anticipated. It also helped her to recover more quickly after undergoing intense surgery.
During a business trip this past May in New York City, Grotelueschen’s husband reached out to Peloton to share her inspiring story. One of her favorite instructors reached back out to invite them both to a fitness class and to capture her journey on video. She shared her gratitude for the experience with Peloton and expressed that the opportunity was surreal.
“They surprised me with ride 1600. I got to ride with Ally Love, who is one of my favorite instructors. And then I got to ride the next day with another instructor that I really enjoy as well,” Grotelueschen told Halperin.
A few months before her open-heart surgery, Grotelueschen noticed that she was more fatigued doing small daily tasks, such as walking up the stairs. Though it was challenging at times, these barriers did not stop her, but instead it motivated her to push through each struggle with confidence. She continued to do low impact rides on her Peloton to maintain her mental and physical strength until her surgery, expressing gratitude to her community and health care team.
“The care I received at Ohio Health was above and beyond,” Grotelueschen said. “My cardiologist, Dr. Wada, was just amazing at listening and getting me to the “sweet spot” for surgery. And Dr. Blossom was obviously awesome in the surgical suite but also had such a reassuring bedside manner. We appreciated him fielding all of our questions and concerns and being so personable."
She also mentions that the nurses and therapists were very attentive and thoughtful when taking care of her. Grotelueschen said, “I couldn’t thank them enough! I kept telling them they were all angels on earth, and I meant every word."
While she says that after surgery it was very humbling, going from someone who was active and took care of others to someone who needed to be taken care of, she was able to get through it because of her strong support system. She says her husband, children, friends and community helped to keep her strong during such a difficult time in her life.
She hopes that sharing her story can inspire others going through a challenging situation to persevere with confidence. Her bravery and resilience are a reminder that recovery does not mean stopping, it means moving forward one step, one pedal at a time.
She attributes a lot of her successful care and recovery to her team at OhioHealth. She said, “I just can’t thank them enough! They saved my life. There are just no words that express that kind of gratitude.”
