Patient Stories

The next time you reach for the snooze button, think of Gordon Hall. While you are dozing off, the 79-year-old Marblehead dynamo is likely to be downhill or cross-country skiing, canoeing, swimming, playing tennis, sailboat racing or attending a board meeting for one of the many community, cultural and environmental organizations with which he is involved.

You would never guess that Hall is a veteran of several cardiac procedures to correct an arterial blockage and cardiac arrhythmia, performed over the last 10 years under the care of David Roberts, M.D., NSMC Chief of Cardiology.

Hall’s treatment—which included stenting and cardioversion at NSMC and cardiac ablation at Massachusetts General Hospital—exemplifies the full spectrum of leading-edge care offered by the NSMC Heart Center and the seamless collaboration between cardiac specialists at NSMC and Mass General.

Thanks to this combination of medical expertise, state-of-the-art technology and his own exceptional physical conditioning, Hall was able to avoid surgery and a lengthy recovery that might have slowed him down. Instead, he never missed a beat. While many of his friends have been slowed by age or illness, he maintains the active lifestyle he’s embraced since he first discovered his love of the outdoors as a boy fly-fishing with his father on Maine’s Moosehead Lake.

Recently, Hall made a gift to support cardiology programs and services at NSMC as part of his estate plan. “Gratitude is a powerful motivator,” he says. “Dr. Roberts and NSMC not only saved my life but also have made it possible for me to keep doing the things I love.”

Hall’s gift is especially meaningful in a field like cardiology that is always evolving, says Dr. Roberts. “Cardiology is a technology-driven subspecialty, and the speed of advances requires significant, continual investments in new and upgraded equipment. Having this kind of directed support allows us to stay at the forefront of treatment.”