‘Book me a room. We’ll do it Tuesday.’

Surgeon comes in from vacation to ensure patient won't miss his daughter's wedding

In the middle of a dance floor -- surrounded by family and friends -- there was Darrell Drew, swaying to the music with his eldest daughter, Paxtyn.

Just hours before, Paxtyn Drew had become Paxtyn Bower. Now, she and Darrell were sharing the traditional father-daughter dance at her wedding reception.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment that nearly slipped away from them.

"It's something you always look forward to," Drew said. "I almost missed that one thing in life I didn't want to miss."

The story begins with a little black cat. Drew oversees maintenance and transportation for Fayette County School Corp., and small animals are always turning up at the district's maintenance garage.

This one Drew named Ramsey after the mascot for his beloved University of North Carolina Tar Heels and took in with the intention of making him an office pet. Ramsey has a habit of going around knocking stuff off countertops. One day, after picking up after Ramsey several times, Drew noticed he wasn't feeling quite right.

The Connersville resident has survived an aneurysm and has had several stents. He's all too familiar with the warning signs of a heart problem.

"I told my wife, 'I think I've got something blocked again. I feel real dizzy,'" Drew said.

So two weeks before Paxtyn's wedding, Drew found himself in a room at Reid Health Hospital where he learned he needed to have double-bypass heart surgery. No surgeon was available at Reid the next week, making it possible Drew wouldn't be able to have the procedure he needed and be out of recovery in time to attend the wedding.

"It hurt really bad that maybe I didn't take good enough care of myself to do this," Drew said, "but Dr. Saleh took all that away."

Within minutes of getting his diagnosis and hearing about the unfortunate timing of surgery, Drew met Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon Mohey Saleh, MD, who was scheduled to be on vacation the next week.

"Dr. Saleh walked into the room and said he could do the surgery. He had heard about my daughter's wedding and said we can't wait," Drew said.

"He said, 'Book me a room. We'll do it Tuesday.' He literally came in off his vacation to do the surgery. There are a lot of good doctors out there, but most don't do that."

"Nothing, and I mean nothing -- not even knowing how hard-headed and determined my dad can be -- would prepare me for him being able to walk me every step of the way down that aisle. ... It was truly nothing short of a miracle." -- Paxtyn Drew

Drew's situation had struck a chord with Dr. Saleh, who saw something of his own daughter in Paxtyn.

"I was scheduled for Christmas vacation the following week, and if we waited to perform the surgery the week after that, Darrell would definitely miss his daughter's wedding," Dr. Saleh said. "It touched a nerve in me because my daughter's wedding had been a few months before. She happened to be the same age as his daughter.

"The emotion and the importance of walking my daughter down the aisle and having a father-daughter dance was so fresh, and I couldn't imagine he'd miss it."

A nurse herself, Paxtyn knew time wasn't on their side.

"I was slightly panicked knowing how important surgery was but how was I possibly going to let all of our guests know there wasn't going to be a wedding on the date we had planned?" she said.

"Once we realized it was possible -- not a given, but possible -- he would be out of the hospital in time for the wedding, my brainstorming began. I thought through different options of how we could still allow him to be a big part of getting me down the aisle but not jeopardizing his important recovery."

Dr. Saleh and his team performed Drew's surgery on Dec. 19. By Christmas Day, Drew was back home. Five days later, he was there to walk Paxtyn down the aisle and dance with her.

"I knew this would be something he would fight tooth and nail for. If you know my dad, you know he loves competition. If you tell him he can't, he will find every way to prove you wrong and show you he can," Paxtyn said.

"Nothing, and I mean nothing -- not even knowing how hard-headed and determined my dad can be -- would prepare me for him being able to walk me every step of the way down that aisle.

"I'm not a super-emotional person to begin with but get to your own wedding day and have your dad who just went through a major heart surgery -- who honestly shouldn't be there -- getting you down the aisle and through that whole dance and let me tell you it will make you emotional. It was truly nothing short of a miracle."

Dr. Saleh had one request for Drew, a photo of the father-daughter dance, proof of a mission well accomplished.

"Performing the surgery on the 19^th, it wasn't a guarantee he would be able to attend the wedding," Dr. Saleh said. "Sometimes the hospital stay can last longer for one reason or another. Everything must go perfect to reach that goal. And I'm very glad it did.

"Sending me a picture of him dancing with his daughter to me was the ultimate prize."

Drew and his family were grateful for everything the Reid team did for them throughout the journey.

"I truly can't say enough great things about the care my dad received while at Reid," Paxtyn said. "His support staff truly advocated for him, and we knew in the moments we couldn't be present, they were. They provided him with the best possible care."

"They have a staff in Dr. Saleh's office that's unbelievable," Drew said. "One of the nurses even offered to come to the wedding in case I needed anything.

"I think Reid is very lucky to have this guy. I wouldn't go anywhere else."

To make an appointment with Dr. Saleh or any of the other providers at the Reid Health Heart & Vascular Center, go to reidhealth.org/services/heart-vascular-center or call (765) 962-1337.