Joe’s Story: A Second Chance at Life After a Major Heart Attack
Joe Abely doesn’t remember much about February 28, 2025 — but his coworkers and family will never forget it. One moment, he was enjoying a company golf outing; the next, he was collapsed on the floor. Paramedics rushed Joe to Boston Medical Center – South, where cardiologist Dr. Sumon Roy and his team worked together to save his life in the cardiac catheterization lab.
“I learned later that I had a heart attack and died three times on the way to the hospital,” says Joe. “If it wasn’t for Dr. Roy’s excellent care and persistence, I would not be here today.”
After weighing his options with his urologist at Boston Medical Center – South, Dave chose radiation therapy over surgery. Both approaches have a very high success rate for his specific cancer, but radiation therapy meant he could return to work as an electrician at Wheaton College, a job he has held for 39 years.
A massive heart attack
It turned out that Joe had a complete blockage in the heart’s largest blood vessel, the left anterior descending (LAD) artery.
“In Joe’s case, his LAD artery was 100% blocked, which meant the entire area of his heart beyond the blockage was not receiving any oxygen — this caused his massive heart attack.” says Dr. Roy. “We were able to open the blockage and then successfully deploy a stent, restoring blood flow through the entire LAD artery.”
However, moments later, Joe expereinced no-reflow phenomenon, where blood cannot flow beyond the stent that has been placed, even with appropriate stent placement. “As Joe’s blood pressure dropped dangerously low, we placed a microaxial heart pump directly into his heart to protect him from complete cardiac collapse while we worked quickly to restore blood flow through his LAD artery,” says Dr. Roy.
Taking care of both patient and family
Joe’s wife, Alesia, had not joined him at the outing, but recalled he did not look well that morning. “Then an hour and a half later, I got a call saying he had a heart attack.” Once at the hospital, Alesia was joined by their three children Joey, Justin, and Sophia. Together, they learned that Joe’s condition was dire.
“They brought us into a little family room, and Dr. Roy came in and explained what was going on,” says Alesia. “He told us that Joe was in rough shape, but that he would do everything he could to save him. They even let us see Joe, which we were grateful for.” Periodically, Dr. Roy would come out and give updates, and as other family members arrived, he’d update them, too. “It was a very scary day, but Dr. Roy made us feel so comfortable. We knew Joe was in very good hands.”
Joe was very grateful to learn of this support. “If something happens to you, your first concern is your family,” he says. “Not only did Dr. Roy save my life, but he also took care of my family when I couldn’t. He came out three different times to let them know what was going on. That was huge.”
After the stent was placed and Joe was stabilized, he was kept in a medically induced coma for five days and remained at BMC South for several weeks. “All the staff at the hospital were just so nice,” says Alesia. “I know this sounds corny, but it felt like I was visiting family when I would go in. It was such an amazing group of people.”
Preparing for recovery
Joe says that Dr. Roy checked in on him every day in the hospital and did a great job of preparing him and Alesia for what to expect — from how he would be feeling and what medicines he might need, to explaining about the need for an implantable defibrillator, which he had placed in August 2025. “Dr. Roy is a fantastic doctor and a wonderful person,” Joe says. “When you go in to see him, he really listens to your concerns and answers all your questions.”
Getting back to life
Many months have passed, and Joe is slowly getting back to many of the things he enjoyed before his heart attack, like walking and bicycling with Alesia and dirt biking with his sons. “I don’t have the endurance that I used to, so I can’t keep up with Alesia, but I’m working on it,” he jokes.
“Seeing Joe recover to the point where he has now resumed normal life has been immensely rewarding, because it truly was unclear whether he would live,” says Dr. Roy. “I am fortunate to work alongside a fantastic team at the BMC South cardiac catheterization laboratory, and this is the kind of incredible story that motivates us to continue striving to deliver exceptional care in some of the most critical clinical situations imaginable.”
Joe recently got the okay from Dr. Roy to go back to his job as project manager for a construction company. “I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to go back to work,” Joe says. “It just speaks to what a great job Dr. Roy did. He saves people’s lives, and he is just such a humble guy. I really lucked out to have him as a doctor.”
Take Charge of Your Health at Boston Medical Center – South Cardiovascular Center
Boston Medical Center – South’s multidisciplinary Cancer Care Services team serves the community with advanced heart attack care and local access to tertiary specialists for nearly 40 years, reducing the need to travel to Boston.
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