Aaron Dees, mayor of the City of Winona, is looking to return to work on Nov. 8.
He has been away from his duties as mayor since mid-September after he started experiencing “chest pains, squeezing and tightness” in his chest.
After multiple episodes of the symptoms, Dees said he went to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford on Sept. 19 and was treated for a “mild heart attack.”
“The doctor said, ‘Mr. Dees, we’re looking at a dead man. This is the chemistry of a dead man,’” said Dees.
At the time, he had 90 percent blockage in two major arteries – one being the “widow-maker” – and 70 percent blockage of another major artery around his heart, he said.
Despite living a healthy lifestyle of proper diet, exercise, no smoking and no drinking, Dees, 53, said he still developed the condition through heredity.
His dad died at 52; his sister died at 59; and his paternal grandmother died at 39, Dees said.
He said his doctor told him, “You could’ve done all the right things, and this still would have happened to you.”
Unlike his relatives, Dees is living a heart-healthy life, which has enabled him to recover faster than his doctor had expected.
“Physical therapy – I didn’t need. Occupational therapy – I didn’t need,” said Dees. “I am having cardiotherapy.”
Feeling like he is 30 years old, Dees is recuperating at home in Winona, and says “the best is yet to come.”
While he appreciates the stellar work of the hospital staff, Dees gives God all the glory in his recovery and compares his experience to a story he heard of a dying woman.
Dees said when the woman planned her funeral with her pastor, she insisted she be buried with a fork.
“When she died, they put the fork in her hand,” said Dees. “Her pastor said, ‘When she was in the world, she ate her meal. Now, she’s in Heaven having her dessert.”
Like the woman, Dees said his best is yet to come.
