Thousands will begin Thanksgiving Day tomorrow at the Annual Turkey Trot Fort Worth-- but the trot will be extra special for one runner in particular.
Ellen Bergami, 73, has peripheral artery disease (PAD) which causes blockages in the arteries in the legs and arms.
For five years, blocked arteries caused so much pain in her leg, she could barely walk--let alone run in races that had become her life.
"I cannot make you feel what it feels like to not be able to walk for five years and just go to the races and stand on the sidelines until I couldn't go anymore because it hurt so bad to watch them," said Bergami.
Her peripheral artery disease was so severe, even a bypass, the gold standard for dealing with blocked arteries, failed.
"If that failed, like what happened in her, and they have pain that cannot be cured or responding with medication, the only other treatment left is to do an amputation," said Dr. Mizra Baig, vascular surgeon at Baylor Medical Center Irving.
Baig specializes in agressive revascularization techniques, a new technology that can restore blood flow and save limbs.
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Part of the procedure he performed on Bergami included use of a new stent to replace her old one invaded by scar tissue in her femoral artery.
"We realigned it with a stent like this one, which has fabric on it, so scar tissue cannot grow through the fabric," Baig said.
Bergami is now pain-free and counting down the hours until she crosses the finish line in the Turney Trot.
"I'm gonna celebrate! I'm gonna cry. I don't cry very easily, but I'm just gonna cry," she said.
Since Baig started his aggresive revascularization program the number of amputations at Baylor Medical Center Irving has gone down from 24 to just three this year.
