Annual Giving Report 2017

“When someone gives you back a quality of life, nothing can really repay them. I am truly indebted to the doctors, nurses and staff of AtlantiCare. Making a gift to the AtlantiCare Foundation was simply a way I could say thank you.” Joe Mazzeo Linwood Mitral Valve Replacement 2002 Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement 2017 Grateful Patient Donor 2017

Coming to terms with his heart condition wasn’t something that came easy to Joe Mazzeo. “I am not used to being sick and at the age of 40, when I began to feel tired all the time, I knew something wasn’t right, but it was hard to admit it.” As a veteran of the US Navy, an entrepreneur with a drive for success and a dedicated father, Joe believed he was living a lifestyle to afford him a healthy future. “The doctors told me my heart was working overtime and I couldn’t ignore the signs anymore.” With the advice from his doctors, he began asking around for opinions on where to seek treatment. “I had a regular customer at the market – a doctor. We would talk a lot and we became friendly. So I felt confident I would get an honest answer from him. So, I asked him if I should go to Philadelphia for my cardiac care. He said to me, ‘They are recruiting the best doctors around from Chicago to NewYork. You don’t have to leave home to get top-notch care. Go right here to Galloway.’ That was all I needed,” Joe said. Joe’s first surgery was in 2002 with James Dralle, MD, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, the Heart Institute at ARMC, where he underwent a mitral valve replacement. For years, he did well without any issues. But in time, his heart again began to affect his quality of life.

In early 2017, Howard Axelrod, MD, Cardiac Surgeon, the Heart Institute at ARMC, performed a transcatheter aortic valve replacement. “Dr. Axelrod and his team are miracle workers in my book. In the months since my surgery, it’s like I have a new lease on life. Someone does you a good turn like that, I felt I had to do something. It just felt right to give back. I couldn’t just say ‘thanks and good bye.’ I needed to do more.” Joe generously donated to the

AtlantiCare Foundation as part of the Grateful Patient program in honor of his caregivers: James Dralle, MD, Howard Axelrod, MD, Jeff VanHook, MD, Rashmikant Desai, MD, Dawn

Mutchko, APN, and Dawn Christensen. Joe is a retired entrepreneur. He was part owner of the Tilton Meat Market in Northfield for 13 years before branching out on his own and opening Joe’s Seaside Market on 12th Avenue in Brigantine, which he operated for more than 20 years. With his improved quality of life, he is back on the golf course and enjoys traveling to visit his daughter, Toni, in California.

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