{"id":4824,"date":"2016-04-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-13T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/2016\/04\/13\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/"},"modified":"2021-07-09T11:56:12","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T17:56:12","slug":"heart-patient-75-up-and-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart patient, 75, up and running"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Val Tirman is no couch potato.<\/p>\n

He has been lifting weights and running 60 to 90 minutes a day almost every day since 1952.<\/p>\n

For fun, he hikes Colorado\u2019s 14ers. His idea of sightseeing is not to take a leisurely stroll but to run from destination to destination to take in the sights.<\/p>\n

The picture of health, Tirman hasn\u2019t smoked a cigarette since 1969 and he hasn\u2019t had a drink since 1981. He is aware of his percentage of body fat \u2013 it\u2019s 8 percent.<\/p>\n

Out of the blue it seemed, everything changed within a few days of Sept. 10, 2015 \u2013 his 75th birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings went to hell in a hand basket,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Val Tirman is grateful the care he received at UCHealth Memorial Hospital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new reality didn\u2019t sit well with Tirman, a retired Air force lieutenant colonel and a man of considerable accomplishment. He is the co-founder of Productive Data Solutions Inc., serving as its Chief Technology Officer.\u00a0 Tirman’s credentials include the leadership and management of major system prototyping and implementation efforts for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Air Force Space Command and the Department of the Interior. He taught psychology, computer science and the Russian language at the Air Force Academy for nine years. In the Air Force, he served as an engineer, communications officer, unit commander and associate professor at the AFA.<\/p>\n

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Val Tirman is grateful for Memorial cardiologists who gave him a second chance.<\/p>\n

Throughout his career, he traveled the world, but days after his 75th birthday, when Tirman took two steps up a staircase, he felt as though he would face plant. Walking 10 steps across a room was almost more than he could take. He\u2019d have to sit in a chair and catch his breath.<\/p>\n

Tirman figured that he was having an exceptionally wicked bout with sports-induced asthma. Over the years, he\u2019s had occasional trouble with it. He went to see his longtime primary care physician, Dr. Scott Brassfield, who prescribed medications but this time, the prescriptions didn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n

When Tirman returned to Dr. Brassfield a week later, the primary care physician did an EKG. The results showed that Tirman had severe atrial fibrillation, the most common type of arrhythmia \u2013 a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat.<\/p>\n

Dr. Brassfield referred his patient to cardiologists at Memorial Hospital, and Tirman quickly met Drs. Russell Strader, David Beutler, Jaime Gonzalez and Jorge Davalos. In the beginning, the doctors advised Tirman of potential options: He may need a pacemaker, an LVAD pump and possibly a heart transplant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith AFib,your heart just kind of sits there and flutters — it wasn\u2019t really doing much,\u2019\u2019 Tirman said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Strader, who managed Tirman\u2019s associated heart failure, said that \u201cbetween the blockage in his artery and the irregular heart rhythm, it weakened his heart considerably. It had not been pumping properly, and that\u2019s what made him so short of breath.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr. Gonzalez performed a cardioversion – a procedure that aims to restore the heart to a normal rhythm \u2013 but the procedure did not correct Tirman\u2019s arrhythmia.<\/p>\n

During the process of trying to determine the right treatment for Tirman, doctors discovered the left anterior descending artery was 95 percent closed. The left anterior descending artery runs down the front of the heart and supplies blood to the front and main wall. When the LAD is totally blocked or has a critical blockage, right at the beginning of the vessel, it is known as the \u2018widow maker.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very odd, because I had no chest pain,\u2019\u2019 Tirman said. \u201cOne of the big problems with AFib is that my autonomic breathing just quit. So I wasn\u2019t getting any sleep. I\u2019d quit breathing and when you are out of breath, you are panicked to get air. I slept on the couch, sitting up and stuff. I guess it was 90-95 percent blocked. Basically, the heart was dying.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Having a team of cardiologists working to restore Tirman\u2019s heart proved successful. Strader, for instance, worked to ensure that the heart pumps properly while Beutler worked on the plumbing and Gonzalez worked on the electrical system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis team approach, to have cardiologists working in sync to provide optimal heart health, is what makes Memorial different, and why we have such great outcomes, like we did with Mr. Tirman,\u2019\u2019 Strader said.<\/p>\n

Dr.\u00a0Davalos performed surgery, placing a stent in Tirman\u2019s artery. That restored blood flow to his heart. If this didn\u2019t work, Dr. Strader discussed the options of dealing with heart failure.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u201dOnce that got in and the blood supply started, it got better, it really did,” Tirman said. “Within a few weeks, I got back to the gym. Now I\u2019m pretty much back. I\u2019m better than I was. For an old fart, I\u2019m doing great.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Tirman has returned to his workouts at the YMCA. He\u2019s lifting again and running a bit slower at first and working toward at least 60 minutes a day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really couldn\u2019t ask for more. What they did, it was like magic. They gave me a second chance. Thank God for small favors,\u2019\u2019 Tirman said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Val Tirman is no couch potato. He has been lifting weights and running 60 to 90 minutes a day almost every day since 1952. For fun, he hikes Colorado\u2019s 14ers. His idea of sightseeing is not to take a leisurely stroll but to run from destination to destination to take in the sights. The picture […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":2515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[84,3512,55],"class_list":["post-4824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-cardiology","tag-heart-and-vascular-care-cardiovascular","tag-memorial-hospital"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHeart patient, 75, up and running - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Val Tirman is no couch potato. He has been lifting weights and running 60 to 90 minutes a day almost every day since 1952. For fun, he hikes Colorado\u2019s 14ers. His idea of sightseeing is not to take a leisurely stroll but to run from destination to destination to take in the sig...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heart patient, 75, up and running\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Val Tirman is no couch potato. He has been lifting weights and running 60 to 90 minutes a day almost every day since 1952. For fun, he hikes Colorado\u2019s 14ers. His idea of sightseeing is not to take a leisurely stroll but to run from destination to destination to take in the sights. The picture […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-13T06:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-09T17:56:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/1970\/01\/28144916\/valtirman.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3\"},\"headline\":\"Heart patient, 75, up and running\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-13T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-09T17:56:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":876,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/1970\\\/01\\\/28144916\\\/valtirman.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Cardiology\",\"Heart and vascular care\",\"Memorial Hospital\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/\",\"name\":\"Heart patient, 75, up and running - UCHealth Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/1970\\\/01\\\/28144916\\\/valtirman.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-13T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-09T17:56:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/1970\\\/01\\\/28144916\\\/valtirman.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/1970\\\/01\\\/28144916\\\/valtirman.webp\",\"width\":217,\"height\":317,\"caption\":\"Val Tirman is grateful the care he received at UCHealth Memorial Hospital.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Heart patient, 75, up and running\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"description\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UCHealth\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"UCHealth\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/uchealth\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/uchealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/school\\\/14839\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3\",\"name\":\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\"},\"description\":\"Erin Emery was a long-time writer and editor UCHealth Today. She also spent years as a reporter for The Denver Post, the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Colorado Springs Sun. Erin was part of a team of Denver Post reporters who won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/author\\\/eemery\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Heart patient, 75, up and running - UCHealth Today","description":"Val Tirman is no couch potato. He has been lifting weights and running 60 to 90 minutes a day almost every day since 1952. For fun, he hikes Colorado\u2019s 14ers. His idea of sightseeing is not to take a leisurely stroll but to run from destination to destination to take in the sig...","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Heart patient, 75, up and running","og_description":"Val Tirman is no couch potato. He has been lifting weights and running 60 to 90 minutes a day almost every day since 1952. For fun, he hikes Colorado\u2019s 14ers. His idea of sightseeing is not to take a leisurely stroll but to run from destination to destination to take in the sights. The picture […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/","og_site_name":"UCHealth Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","article_published_time":"2016-04-13T06:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-07-09T17:56:12+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/1970\/01\/28144916\/valtirman.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uchealth","twitter_site":"@uchealth","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/"},"author":{"name":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3"},"headline":"Heart patient, 75, up and running","datePublished":"2016-04-13T06:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-09T17:56:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/"},"wordCount":876,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/1970\/01\/28144916\/valtirman.webp","keywords":["Cardiology","Heart and vascular care","Memorial Hospital"],"articleSection":["Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/","name":"Heart patient, 75, up and running - UCHealth Today","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/1970\/01\/28144916\/valtirman.webp","datePublished":"2016-04-13T06:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-09T17:56:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/1970\/01\/28144916\/valtirman.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/1970\/01\/28144916\/valtirman.webp","width":217,"height":317,"caption":"Val Tirman is grateful the care he received at UCHealth Memorial Hospital."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/heart-patient-75-up-and-running\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Heart patient, 75, up and running"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","name":"UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth Today","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization","name":"UCHealth","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"UCHealth"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/uchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uchealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/14839\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3","name":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Erin Emery, UCHealth"},"description":"Erin Emery was a long-time writer and editor UCHealth Today. She also spent years as a reporter for The Denver Post, the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Colorado Springs Sun. Erin was part of a team of Denver Post reporters who won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/eemery\/"}]}},"coauthors":[{"id":20,"name":"Erin Emery","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/eemery\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4824"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40504,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4824\/revisions\/40504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}