REFLECTING ON MEDICAL HISTORY
Retired doctor now a patient
He witnessed decades of change
W
hen retired physician John Finkner of Minden began experiencing shortness of breath, he went to see his cardiologist in Kearney, Dr. Sean Denney. John, 93, had a pacemaker from a previous surgery, and his doctor had been monitoring him for aortic valve stenosis, a narrowing of the valve which prevents it from opening properly. Dr. Denney was concerned, so he scheduled an appointment for John with Dr. Matt Johnson at a Bryan Heart outreach clinic in Henderson. After reviewing an echocardiogram, Dr. Johnson determined that John’s aortic valve would need to be replaced, and he recommended the minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedure, also known as TAVR. “There are a lot of benefits and very little risk involved with this procedure,” Dr. Johnson explains. “Most patients can be back at home after spending just a day or two in the hospital.” On February 11, Dr. Finkner had his valve replaced at Bryan Heart. Two days later, he was ready to go home. Dr. Johnson says the collaborative effort between Bryan Heart and cardiologists across Nebraska helps patients achieve successful recoveries like Dr. Finkner’s. “They have a lot of great programs throughout Nebraska, including in Kearney,” says Dr. Johnson. “There are a few things that we offer at Bryan Heart, such as the TAVR, that may not be readily available at smaller hospitals, but once patients have had the procedure, they can go home and have the follow-up testing and surveillance done with their local cardiology programs, rather than having to travel.” John says he’s thankful for his outcome. “I’m glad to have my heart situation under control,” he says. “Thank you to Dr. Johnson and everyone at Bryan. I really appreciated the professionalism and the special care that they gave me, and I’m getting along quite well.”
Early connections John grew up on a farm outside of Adams, and his interest in medicine began after he suffered a leg injury playing high school football. “A country doctor came to my home to check on me once a
This story is brought to you by Inpatient Physician Associates. 12 Winter 2020
Dr. John Finkner of Minden, now living at the Central Nebraska Veterans Home in Kearney, practiced for 50 years. This heart patient reflected on changes he witnessed over his lengthy career.
week, and I developed a respect for physicians,” he recalls. In 1944, the 17-year-old received a Regents Scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 1945, as World War II was nearing an end, John noticed an advertisement for U.S. Navy hospital corpsmen. He enlisted, and on his 18th birthday shipped out for boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois. By the time he finished corps school, the war was over. He was sent to the Naval Ammunition Depot near Hastings and served
