{"id":89666,"date":"2026-04-03T11:10:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T17:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=89666"},"modified":"2026-04-03T13:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:07:38","slug":"colorado-springs-mayor-heart-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/colorado-springs-mayor-heart-diagnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"A life-changing diagnosis for a Colorado mayor: How an emergency heart procedure reshaped Mayor ‘Yemi’ Mobolade’s leadership and perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Colorado
Colorado Springs Mayor Blessing “Yemi” Mobolade and his family joined a community trash pick-up event on a recent Saturday. “I’m at my healthiest ever,” Mobolade said. He credits successful procedures to clear blockages in his heart and a 36-session cardiac rehabilitation program that he completed in February. Photo by Chuck Bigger, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a\u00a0bright sunny Saturday morning,\u00a0<\/span>Colorado Springs\u00a0Mayor\u00a0Blessing \u201cYemi\u201d Mobolade<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0is perched over the bank of Monument Creek near downtown, yanking hard on a\u00a0large\u00a0trash bag\u00a0that is snagged in some tree roots.\u00a0He tugs and tugs until\u00a0he frees\u00a0the\u00a0bag and a tangle of other trash.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His wife,\u00a0Abbey\u00a0Mobolade,\u00a0is straddling two large branches nearby, also trying to free trash from the roots. Their three children are using pickers to grab cigarette butts and other scraps of\u00a0trash\u00a0on the banks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The family is here for one of the regular trash pick-ups organized by the city and partner organizations. It\u2019s a particular point of pride for the mayor, who campaigned on making Colorado Springs a cleaner city, and a passion that began in his native Nigeria, where his family and fellow community member<\/span>s dedicated\u00a0time\u00a0on\u00a0one Saturday per month picking up trash.<\/span><\/p>\n

On this morning, Mobolade hands his family\u2019s full bags of trash to a volunteer on an ATV, then declares that he feels great. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0not just\u00a0a talking point for a\u00a0busy elected official\u00a0who has spent the morning\u00a0shaking hands and taking selfies with constituents\u00a0as he helps\u00a0wrangle\u00a0his three young children and, of course, picks\u00a0up trash.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Mobolade,
Mobolade, with his wife, Abbey Mobolade, and their three children, from left, Dawit,\u00a012, Zion,\u00a06, and Aletheia, 8, cross a pedestrian and bicycle bridge at America the Beautiful Park in downtown Colorado Springs after picking up trash at a community clean-up event. Photo by Chuck Bigger, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mobolade,\u00a047, means that he\u00a0is feeling\u00a0the best\u00a0he\u2019s felt in\u00a0his life, and a far cry from\u00a0June\u00a02025,\u00a0when he went to the hospital\u00a0sick with double pneumonia and\u00a0learned that two of the main arteries in his heart were almost completely blocked.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m now at my healthiest ever,\u201d\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0said, as\u00a0his children, Dawit,\u00a012,\u00a0Aletheia,\u00a08,\u00a0and Zion,\u00a06,\u00a0waited nearby to\u00a0begin\u00a0kicking a soccer ball with him.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u00a0heart\u00a0health crisis reshaped\u00a0virtually\u00a0every\u00a0aspect of\u00a0Mobolade\u2019s\u00a0personal\u00a0and professional life, from\u00a0how he prioritizes his time\u00a0and takes care of his health\u00a0to how he leads the city\u00a0government.\u00a0He\u00a0emerged\u00a0from a\u00a0near-death experience\u00a0at\u00a0<\/span>UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0believing he got a second chance, grateful for the care that saved his life and\u00a0imbued\u00a0with a deeper\u00a0conviction about the impact he wants to have as a husband, father,\u00a0mayor\u00a0and member of the world at large.\u00a0His is a\u00a0life renewed by\u00a0experiencing what it\u00a0means to be given more time\u00a0after surviving the health crisis he never saw coming.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have a second chance\u00a0at\u00a0life,\u201d he said. \u201cA second chance to do this. And\u00a0I’m\u00a0not going to waste it.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After immigrating for educational opportunities, Mobolade dives into civic life in Colorado Springs<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Mobolade is an elected official who defies categorization, a political newcomer who ran as an independent in the nonpartisan race for Colorado Springs mayor, the first elected office he\u2019s ever held. He\u2019s an immigrant, a pastor, a small-business owner and a community organizer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobolade\u00a0was born\u00a0and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. His\u00a0parents held professional jobs\u00a0and also, as converts to Christianity, led a church.\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0moved to the United States when he was 17, in search of educational opportunities. He\u00a0seized them when he got here,\u00a0earning\u00a0two\u00a0bachelor’s\u00a0degrees\u00a0and two\u00a0master\u2019s degrees\u00a0from three schools.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2010,\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0moved to Colorado Springs to\u00a0start a church, then\u00a0dove headlong into\u00a0a succession of roles that gave him experience with entrepreneurship and local government and fueled his passion for building community.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u00a0co-founded two popular community hubs,\u00a0the\u00a0Wild Goose\u00a0Meeting House\u00a0in 2013\u00a0and Good Neighbor\u2019s Meeting House\u00a0in 2017.\u00a0He\u00a0joined the staff of one of the largest churches in Colorado Springs,\u00a0<\/span>First\u00a0Presbyterian<\/span><\/a>, as director of outreach and engagement in 2015. He worked at the\u00a0<\/span>Colorado Springs Chamber\u00a0& EDC<\/span><\/a> (Economic Development Corp.) as vice president of business retention and expansion. And in 2019, he joined the City of Colorado Springs as small business development administrator, where he launched tools and programs to assist entrepreneurs. His office was just a few doors down from the term-limited mayor at the time.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In\u00a02017,\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0became a\u00a0naturalized\u00a0U.S. citizen.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a milestone he has described as deeply meaningful.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\""I
“I have a second chance at life,” said Mayor “Yemi,” as he’s known. A trip to the hospital for double pneumonia in 2025 led doctors to discover two blocked arteries, including a scary “widow-maker,” which could have been fatal. Photo by Chuck Bigger, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By 2022,\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0decided he wanted to run for mayor.\u00a0He resigned from\u00a0his city position to launch his campaign,\u00a0promising a fresh approach\u00a0to city government\u00a0and\u00a0a focus on\u00a0public safety, city\u00a0roads\u00a0and infrastructure. He also pledged to increase\u00a0jobs\u00a0and\u00a0access to\u00a0affordable housing\u00a0while\u00a0boosting\u00a0public engagement.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobolade was an underdog with little name recognition. During his campaign, he hosted nearly 110 meet-and-greet events around the city and knocked on nearly 40,000 doors. Then he defied conventional wisdom and beat a longtime, well-known politician in a runoff election. Mobolade was sworn in as the 42<\/span>nd<\/span>\u00a0mayor of Colorado Springs on June 6, 2023, at age\u00a044, becoming one of the youngest people to hold\u00a0the\u00a0office in Colorado Springs\u00a0and the first elected Black mayor in the city\u2019s history.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobolade often borrows concepts advanced by President Abraham Lincoln, with whom he shares a Feb. 12 birthday. In building his city government team, like Lincoln, Mobolade named one of his competitors to a role in his new administration. Then he began to tackle his campaign agenda. He launched what he called the 1,000 Neighborhood Gatherings initiative, encouraging residents to host small neighborhood meetings to strengthen community connections. He oversaw the hiring of more than 270 new police officers and led an effort to pass a voter-approved extension of money for road repairs. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He planned to kick off his second year with a new series of seven town hall meetings, co-hosted with City Council members in their elected districts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But as he approached the halfway mark of his first\u00a0term as\u00a0mayor,\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0was\u00a0very sick.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobolade fights through illness at first. ‘I\u2019m just wired to keep going.’<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

When\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0attended the\u00a0series\u2019\u00a0first town hall on\u00a0May 23,\u00a0staff members told him he seemed short of breath.\u00a0At the\u00a0May 29\u00a0meeting, he\u00a0felt even worse.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never think about retreat,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just wired to keep going.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I am a workaholic. I don\u2019t say that as a good thing.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u00a0hoped\u00a0he could\u00a0shake off his illness over the weekend.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But when the next work week started on June 2, he made two big announcements in his leadership meeting. First, he told his team that they would need to cut the city budget because of slowing sales tax revenue. Second, he was leaving the meeting to go see a doctor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Mobolade,
Mobolade, 47, was sworn in as the youngest mayor in Colorado Springs history in June 2023. As the second anniversary of his term in office approached, Mobolade was working long days and feeling sicker by the day. After being hospitalized for double pneumonia and learning he had heart blockages, Mobolade changed his approach to leadership at the city. \u201cIt was healthy for the team. I didn\u2019t have to be at the center of every decision anymore.\u201d Photo by Chuck Bigger, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nursing experience kicks in, as\u00a0Abbey\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0suspects pneumonia<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Mobolade\u2019s\u00a0wife\u00a0Abbey\u00a0is a nurse and started noticing that her\u00a0husband\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0walk up a flight of stairs without pausing. He complained of pain in his chest.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe took it easy for a couple of days, lightened his workload, but still went to work, because he doesn\u2019t ever not go to work,\u201d she said. \u201cBut he wasn\u2019t recovering, and he was getting worse.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was\u00a0thinking\u00a0pneumonia, some sort of respiratory infection,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbey\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0worked\u00a0as a critical care nurse in southern Colorado for almost eight years before joining the nursing faculty at\u00a0<\/span>Pikes Peak State College<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in 2018.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nursing was a career she had dreamed of as a child, but she didn\u2019t pursue it until her father had a heart attack and she interacted with the critical care nurses who cared for him. She was working toward a nursing degree from Indiana University South Bend in the late 2000s when she met Mobolade. He was on the staff of a church she started attending. They were friends, lost touch, reconnected and then started dating. When he moved to California, they had a long-distance relationship for 18 months. After she finished nursing school in 2011, she moved to Colorado Springs to join him. They married in 2012.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As her husband got sicker, her nursing experience kicked in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had a gut feeling something wasn\u2019t right,\u201d she said. \u201cI remember looking at him on the couch and wondering, \u2018Am\u00a0I watching him go septic?\u2019 I could only check blood pressure and oxygen, and those were\u00a0OK. But he compensates well because\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0extremely fit.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A trip by ambulance to the ER\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

After\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0left his leadership meeting, he\u00a0went to the city of\u00a0<\/span>Colorado Springs\u00a0City Employee Medical Clinic<\/span><\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0<\/span>Lane Center for Academic Health Sciences<\/span><\/a> on the campus of the\u00a0<\/span>University of Colorado Colorado Springs<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0A\u00a0medical\u00a0provider there suspected he had pneumonia, ran some tests, and told him she would be in touch.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next day, the provider called\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0and told him that she had made an appointment for him at\u00a0<\/span>UCHealth Grandview Hospital<\/span><\/a>, across the street from the Lane Center. He\u00a0needed to go\u00a0immediately,\u00a0she\u00a0told him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobolade\u00a0thought he would get some medication,\u00a0then head to\u00a0the next\u00a0town hall meeting. This one\u00a0promised to be large and contentious, in a part of the city where some residents\u00a0were upset about\u00a0several growth-related issues.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobolade soon learned he would have to deviate from his plans.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Doctors at Grandview ordered bloodwork, an EKG and a CT scan and decided he needed to be admitted to the hospital. But because Grandview does not have inpatient admissions for high-level cardiac care, doctors sent Mobolade to\u00a0<\/span>Memorial Hospital\u00a0<\/span>Central<\/span>\u00a0by ambulance.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a Colorado Springs\u00a0councilmember who was co-hosting the town hall told the gathering crowd that the mayor was being rushed to the hospital. News reporters began texting the mayor and his staff\u00a0immediately.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything went downhill from there,\u201d\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Looking
Looking back on 2025, Mobolade can see how much stress he was under. City budget cuts loomed. The FBI was investigating a hate crime directed at him. And he had six town hall meetings scheduled over the course of a month. \u201cThe pressure just kept building all year,\u201d he said. \u201cBy the time I got sick, I was already worn down emotionally, spiritually and physically.\u201d Photo by Chuck Bigger, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Possible heart\u00a0issues stun\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

At Memorial Hospital Central, Mobolade said, \u201cIt felt like I had a 1,000-pound gorilla on my chest. And I was having a hard time breathing.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of\u00a0Mobolade\u2019s\u00a0symptoms and test results pointed to possible\u00a0<\/span>heart issues<\/span><\/a>, in addition to pneumonia, said\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Timothy\u00a0Hegemen,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0a UCHealth\u00a0cardiologist\u00a0at the\u00a0<\/span>UCHealth Heart Clinic at Memorial<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Hospital Central\u00a0and\u00a0Mobolade\u2019s\u00a0doctor.\u00a0Doctors ordered more\u00a0blood work, an\u00a0EKG\u00a0and an echocardiogram.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0woke up\u00a0the next morning in his hospital bed,\u00a0he\u00a0saw that his room was full of medical staff.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey said \u2018We need to take you to the cardiology floor,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I said, \u2018Whoa, time out.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0here for double pneumonia.\u2019 And they said, \u2018You are, but our tests uncovered something potentially related to your heart.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobolade\u00a0was stunned.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Doctor restores heart blood flow with stent procedure<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

He tried to call his wife, who was home with their three children. But she\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0pick\u00a0up. He turned to the only way he could think of\u00a0to reach\u00a0her \u2013 the\u00a0remote\u00a0camera in his son\u2019s room. Through his phone, he saw motion in\u00a0the room of\u00a0his older son, Dawit.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBuddy,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0Daddy from the hospital. Can you\u00a0go get\u00a0Mommy?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobolade\u00a0chokes up when he recalls calling out to his son.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat moment broke me,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything was confusing, and I needed her. I needed my wife.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After Abbey Mobolade arrived at the hospital, she and her husband talked with <\/span>Dr.\u00a0Joseph\u00a0Lee<\/span><\/a>, an interventional cardiologist\u00a0at Memorial\u00a0Hospital Central.\u00a0Lee is also an\u00a0<\/span>assistant clinical professor of cardiology<\/span><\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0<\/span>University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine<\/span><\/a>. He told the couple that he would perform an angiogram in the hospital\u2019s heart catheterization lab, injecting a contrast material and using imaging to see how blood flowed through Mobolade\u2019s heart vessels.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"As
As his health crisis unfolded in summer 2025, Mobolade was forced to radically rethink his life: his health, his leadership style and his many relationships. Along the way, Mobolade would rethink his faith, too, and even his purpose. He now believes it\u2019s his duty to share his story to encourage other people to take care of their health. After a community clean-up event on a recent Saturday, Mobolade kicked around a soccer ball with son Zion. Photo by Chuck Bigger, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018Let\u2019s go and have it checked,\u201d\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0said. \u201cChances\u00a0are it\u2019s\u00a0nothing. If we\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0find anything,\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0good. If we do,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0take care of it.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lee discovered that Mobolade\u2019s left anterior descending artery was about 80% blocked. This crucial artery supplies blood to the front portion of the heart, carrying up to half of the heart\u2019s blood supply. It\u2019s known as the \u201cwidow-maker\u201d because a blockage in this artery can cause a deadly heart attack. Lee also learned that Mobolade\u2019s right coronary artery, which supplies blood to the right side of the heart, was completely blocked.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea,\u201d he said. \u201cZero idea I was living with that.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbey\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0said she was \u201cstunned.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was shocked they found anything,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd if we hadn\u2019t caught this, I might have found him dead on the living room floor after a workout.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lee\u00a0put\u00a0a stent\u00a0in\u00a0Mobolade\u2019s\u00a0left artery, restoring\u00a0blood flow.\u00a0He then\u00a0told\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0that unblocking the other artery would be a more complicated procedure, and he wanted to wait until\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0recovered from\u00a0the\u00a0pneumonia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was all so overwhelming and shocking,\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0said. He\u00a0had gone to the hospital for pneumonia. Suddenly, the man\u00a0who\u00a0was \u201cwired to keep going\u201d\u00a0was forced to confront a\u00a0new reality:\u00a0He\u00a0could have died from\u00a0heart problems he\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0know he had.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This health crisis would require him to radically rethink his life:\u00a0his health, his leadership\u00a0style\u00a0and his many relationships.\u00a0Along\u00a0the way,\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0would rethink his faith\u00a0and even his purpose.\u00a0He now believes\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0his duty to share his story to encourage other people to take care of their health.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After the\u00a0stent procedure,\u00a0Mobolade\u00a0met with his\u00a0then-chief of staff to delegate his authority for the next two days while he recovered from the heart procedure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u00a0can\u2019t strategize, debate, talk your way out of or\u00a0strong-arm your way out of biology,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cIt is what it is.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly, I went from leading meetings and traveling across the city to sitting in a hospital bed reflecting on life,\u00a0health\u00a0and priorities.\u00a0It was a moment that forced me to pause.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Heart health tips<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Everyone can take care of their heart by doing the following, said Dr. Timothy Hegeman, a UCHealth cardiologist.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n