“Our story is an amazing one and the doctors of Caribbean Heart Care Medcorp made its ending a happy one. Jim and I have lived aboard our sailboat since 2003. One of Jim’s childhood dreams was to visit Trinidad, but little did Jim know when we set off from San Francisco that it would turn out to save his life! ” – Jim Chevalley,

“On our voyage to Trinidad while in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, Jim (who suffered from high blood pressure) developed chest pains. Thankfully, we had been given the contacts for several doctors there and soon learned that the arteries to Jim’s heart were blocked and needed three stents implanted. Fortunately, Jim’s heart problems were fixed and seven months later, we were able to continue on our journey to Trinidad.

“While in Trinidad Jim was due for a check up, so we made an appointment for him to have we thought would be a routine examination. Much to our surprise and shock, Jim failed his exercise stress test. Thankfully, we had his medical records with us and although they were written in Spanish, CHCm had no trouble reading Jim’s medical history since one of their cardiac specialists was a Venezuelan

“We were told that one of Jim’s stents had collapsed and that it was advisable to have open heart surgery. Under stress, we asked ourselves: Should Jim fly back to the United States? Should he just have the bad stent replaced? Or should he have open-heart surgery in Trinidad?

“We met with CHCm’s cardiac team to determine what the best option was for Jim and eventually agreed to have his surgery scheduled for June 14, 2006. Jim received the best care possible. The doctors at CHCm were very knowledgeable, highly skilled professionals.

“Now, when people ask us about Jim’s surgery, we always say, “We had the best group of doctors anyone could ask for and our decision to have Jim’s surgery in Trinidad was the right one”. Three years later, we are still sailing and are very thankful to all those who helped give Jim a second chance in life.”