Patti Blanchard

Welcome to Patti's site - it's a place to keep family and friends updated in one spot. Thanks for all of your support, encouraging words, and help. 

Patti underwent a 6+ hour overnight emergency open heart surgery for a severe ascending aortic dissection (a tear in the main artery as it comes out of the heart) that was brought on by a random crime situation while driving home from the quilt shop the evening of Thursday, September 5, 2019. 

The wrong place at the wrong time, she was caught in the mix of a shoot out between two other vehicles, though one followed her onto the highway and shot at her windshield and passenger side window - the traumatic event spiked her blood pressure so high, it tore the aorta and quite literally almost scared her to death. 

Despite the odds, and a few moments of great concern, she made it to the operating table where teams fixed the aortic tear and aortic valve, and Patti pulled through. We are so grateful she was not ready to go - and for the teams of surgeons,  doctors, and nurses who saved her life and continue to help her recover.