A year ago, the whole world was able to watch live the open heart surgery of John Pereira from Eindhoven. On his 71st birthday he went under the knife and it was all visible on television and the internet. The operation went well, but afterwards he had bad luck: he fell down the stairs and suffered a brain haemorrhage. Omroep Brabant visited him a year after his operation.
“God only takes good people. Luckily I’m a pig,” he answers with a laugh when asked how he is still alive. “A positive attitude is necessary. A while ago I could barely walk and now I walk without a walker,” he says, beaming.
April last year John started having breathing problems. After a visit to the doctor, fluid was found behind the lungs. This could be solved, but the advice was to have the cardiologist look at what could be the cause. As it turned out, an important vein was narrowed. The strong seventy-year-old had to go under the knife in the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven.
“The operation was a beautiful gift.”
John thought the doctor was joking when he asked if he wanted to participate in a live broadcast. Especially since the operation took place on his birthday. The date September 28 now has a double meaning for him. “The operation was the best gift.”
Not everyone likes it when the whole world can watch. John had a clear purpose in authorizing the live broadcast. “It is very educational, also for people who want to become a nurse, for example.”
Almost two months later, on November 18, disaster struck. “I only had to wait a few more days for my rehabilitation. I fell down the stairs, hitting my head on something. I had a brain hemorrhage.”
“I looked at my children.”
It was an emotional blow, but John doesn’t want to complain. “I looked at my children. That’s what you go for. I also like to play with my grandchild,” he says proudly. And so he set to work on his recovery.
Due to his brain haemorrhage, the rehabilitation from his heart surgery could only start a month ago. That will take at least three months. “I have a bright outlook for the future,” John laughs. “You have to have a positive attitude.”
Heart surgeon Bart Koene still has a special place in John’s heart. During an inspection in November last year, John even brought home-made sambal. It was a thank you for the tough operation.
Watch the operation here.
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