Heart procedure keeps couple’s travel tradition on track

Max and Charlene Blowers have been side by side since grade school, ever since Charlene moved to Indiana from Ohio.

Even at a young age, they felt destined to be together.

Charlene first noticed Max because of his red hair.

"I thought he was kind of an oddity," she says. "I can't remember seeing redheads in my school in Ohio. Then I moved here and met two of them."

Years later, during a high school trip to New York City, Max stopped at a jewelry store and bought Charlene a blue glass ring. Along with it came a promise: after graduation, they would get married.

Max kept that promise; the couple married in 1958 and began building a life filled with adventures. Max started his career in the Navy; the government had the same kind of airplanes in the Air Force, so he was placed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, where he worked on aircraft before joining General Motors as a journeyman die maker. After 13 years with GM, he came home one day with a new idea.

"He asked what I thought about becoming farmers," Charlene says.

Having grown up around farms, Charlene was on board. Together, they built a hog farming operation while raising their four children.

Traveling became a family tradition. The Blowers family spent years exploring the country in a camper. When teachers asked their children which states they had visited, it was often easier to list the ones they hadn't seen.

Max and Charlene also developed a love for trains. Over the years, they have ridden rail systems across the United States. An exception to their train travel came when they visited Alaska, where they boarded a plane and explored remote parts of the state.

Concerning changes

As active as they were, Charlene knew something was wrong when shortness of breath began preventing her from doing the things she loved.

After meeting with her primary care provider, she was referred to Mohammed Madmani, MD. Before her first appointment, however, her oxygen levels dropped again, sending her to the Emergency department (ED) at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

"While I was on my way to my room, I had to stop multiple times to catch my breath," she says. "I knew something was not right."

Testing revealed a serious heart valve issue.

"It looked like a barn door flapping in the breeze," Max says.

To treat the condition, Charlene underwent a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), a minimally invasive procedure in which physicians use a catheter inserted through a small incision in the leg to place a new valve inside the damaged one.

The results were immediate.

"I could breathe normally again," Charlene says.

Two years later, Max faced a similar journey.

While working in his woodshop, he fell and fractured his hip. After recovering, Charlene began noticing that his breathing sounded unusually labored, much like hers had before her diagnosis.

She encouraged him to seek medical care.

Following consultation with Madmani, Max underwent a TAVR procedure to replace a single heart valve. Although he initially recovered well, Charlene remained concerned about his breathing.

A visit to the ED revealed the cause. Max was among the small percentage of patients who require a pacemaker following a TAVR procedure.

"After they put in the pacemaker, I felt completely better," he says.

Breathing easier

Today, the Blowers encourage anyone experiencing similar symptoms not to ignore them.

"Have it checked out," Charlene says. "If you end up having a TAVR, you'll feel better that same day and be shocked at how much easier it is to breathe."

Now, with healthier hearts and the same adventurous spirit they’ve shared for decades, Max and Charlene embarked on their final long train journey, traveling from Waterloo, Indiana, to Chicago, then on to Whitefish, Montana, before continuing to Kalispell to spend time with their grandson.

While the destination may change, one thing remains the same: They’re still traveling through life together, side by side.