2 LVADs, multiple road trips and 8 years later, Ralph Schwanke is living life in Rochester
ROCHESTER — Ralph Schwanke entered a new phase of his life in May 2016.
Weeks earlier, the Claremont native, who turns 81 on Oct. 19, was traveling with his wife Nancy Schwanke to spend part of the winter in Arizona.
"I had chest pains; I thought I was coming down with a cold, but apparently it was a heart attack," Ralph said.
In Arizona, Ralph's surgeon placed stents in multiple arteries, and once Ralph got back to Minnesota, he went to Mayo Clinic to figure out the next steps. He was in severe heart failure.
"They said I was too old for a (heart) transplant," Ralph said.
The alternative solution was to connect a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, to Ralph's heart through his chest. The circular device, which mechanically assists the heart in pumping blood, sits inside the body under the heart and is connected to the organ in two places. A cord called the driveline connects the device to a control system and batteries outside of the body.
It's a relatively uncommon, but not quite rare, procedure, said Dr. Drew Rosenbaum, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist. He said Mayo Clinic in Rochester places between 10 to 15 LVADs each year.
"People can do really well and, on average, live more than five years," Rosenbaum said. "That's in people whose life expectancy was generally one, two years probably with conventional medicines, so it extends survival quite a bit."
So, in May of 2016, Ralph received his LVAD and has now lived more than eight years with the technology that has likely extended his life. More time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. More time listening to summer rainstorms. More time to watch the squirrels run around in the backyard of the Schwankes' Rochester home.
"The benefit is she gets to pick on me longer," Ralph said of his wife of 60 years, smiling, "and I get to hang around and help her. It's kind of a mutual help — she helps me, I help her."
Growing up on a farm near Claremont, Ralph Schwanke's childhood was punctuated with "Huck Finn-type adventures" with a friend. One time, Ralph said, the boys found an abandoned boat and sailed across Rice Lake. It had a leak, though.
"We all of the sudden realized we have to go back because our bicycles are on the south side of the lake, and we had a coffee can," Ralph said. "(He) was pushing with the long stick, and my job was to bail water as fast as I could to keep from going under."
At 17, Ralph left Claremont for Duluth, where he would start his military career. At Duluth Air National Guard Base, he trained to repair airplane radios.
"That was my job — go out to the end of the flight line, test the radios, if there was a bad radio bring it back into the shop," Ralph said. "Those (radios) were 80 pounds at the time, and I grew up on a farm — bales of hay sometimes (weighed) 100 pounds."
Ralph met Nancy through an acquaintance from church. A Duluth native, Nancy was finishing up high school when the two began dating and eventually married. After four years in the military, Ralph landed a job at IBM in Rochester, and the couple settled down in Claremont.
When the Schwankes' children went off the college, so did Nancy — she trained at Rochester Community and Technical College to become a dental assistant.
Nancy's medical training proved to be helpful after Ralph received his LVAD.
Ralph has actually had two LVADs. Two years ago, Ralph was battling an infection, and his medical team decided to replace his LVAD because the infection was also in the machine itself, making it difficult to clear.
Each time Ralph had an LVAD placed, with a new opening in Ralph's chest where the driveline connects the inside and outside parts of the device, Nancy cleaned the opening several times a day, following a sterile protocol.
Routine cleaning around the driveline is just one of many adjustments Ralph and Nancy have had to make to their lives. Because of the driveline, Ralph can't swim in a lake or take a dip in the pool — he has to use a waterproof cover over the driveline when he showers.
Because the LVAD has its power source on the outside of the body, Ralph carries those components in a black sling bag. Ralph's LVAD uses two rechargeable batteries at a time and switches them out every 12 to 15 hours. Each battery, about the size and shape of an original Game Boy console, weighs a few pounds. When the Schwankes travel, they have to make sure to bring extra batteries and the charger.
"If you're going to get in the car, going to go someplace, you have to have the things with you if you're overnight because otherwise they're not going to charge," Nancy said.
And they have embarked on some adventures since Ralph received his LVAD. The Schwankes have taken two 4,000-plus-mile road trips in the last eight years, both times visiting several national parks in the Western U.S.
"We went first to Devil's Tower, Rocky Mountain National Park ... Four Corners, where the four states come together, Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, Yellowstone and home," Ralph said.
The Schwankes also spent 20 days away from home when they traveled to their son's wedding in Florida. They made a road trip out of it, covering 5,500 miles with Ralph and his LVAD behind the wheel.
"Just know your limits and know what you can do," Ralph said.
At home, it's the simple joys. Sitting in the garage, listening to the rain. The bird feeder. The grandchildren visiting and helping keep things tidy.
"People thinking about it," Ralph said of the LVAD, "have to decide what do they want out of life yet? Do you want to hang around and wait for a rain, or watch the squirrel take the seeds out (of the feeder)?"
