Gary Priest's Story

In March, 2007, Gary Priest went to a local church for his Life Line Screening tests. At first, he was sailing through without any problems. He didn’t seem to have blockages in the arteries in his legs, and an ultrasound of his belly didn’t raise any concern for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, either.

So much for his wife’s warning that he go through the screening with her since “you’re retired and you’re getting up there!”

Then the technologist started checking the carotid arteries in his neck for blockages. He found no problems on the right side … but something was amiss on the left side.

“He kept doing it and did it again, and did at least 10 of them. He said ‘Why don’t you have a seat over there.’ Then they came back to me and said ‘We think you need to go to the emergency room,’ ” Gary recalls.

The 62-year-old retired insurance estimator went to his doctor’s office that day, and the doctor sent him for high-tech imaging. Two weeks later, Gary was meeting with a surgeon, who told Gary that his carotid artery was 95% blocked, and he needed an operation to clear it.

“I said ‘I'm going on vacation for my 40^th anniversary – ‘I'll see you when I get back.’ ” He and his wife,

Nancy, had been planning a cruise to Hawaii with another couple for a long time, and they didn’t want to lose the money on their trip.

Fortunately, the surgeon did the operation on April 12, and just two weeks later, the Priests left their home in Rockford, Ill., to embark on their cruise from Los Angeles. They had a blast. Gary couldn’t swim much or get sun on his surgical scar – and he couldn’t play golf, but that just saved him a lot of money, he laughs.

Gary’s surgeon told him that “the money I spent for Life Line Screening was well worth it,” he says. Since the procedure, he has started eating more vegetables and fruits and less meat, and he’s exercising more.

And he’s sharing his story with others. “I’ve told a lot of people about Life Line Screening, and a lot of people have signed up,” he says. “They said, ‘Oh, we’re going to have one at my church,’ and I said ‘It’s well worth it.’ ”