Another chance at life, right here at home

 

Tim Clancy thought it was a routine CT scan.

Honestly, he almost didn't go.

Everything with his heart seemed fine. He had no symptoms, no pain and no reason to think anything was wrong. The scan was simply part of monitoring a heart condition he had lived with since birth.

Then the phone rang.

“It was supposed to be routine,” Tim recalls. “But when the phone rang quickly after, I knew something was up.”

The scan had revealed a large and unstable aneurysm near his heart.

One phone call had suddenly changed everything.

A life shaped by second chances

At 47, Tim had already lived with heart disease for most of his life.

Born with a congenital defect called coarctation of the aorta, he underwent surgery at just three years old at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He was the first child at that centre to undergo that particular repair.

That groundbreaking procedure gave Tim the chance to grow up, build a career and create a life he loves.

After moving to New Brunswick from Ontario in 2021, Tim and his wife, Jamie, settled in rural Codys and co-founded Lily's Place Animal Sanctuary.

Today, 55 animals, including sheep, goats, ducks, chickens and turkeys, call the sanctuary home. Tim serves as Board President and Jamie as Executive Director, supported primarily by volunteers who help provide lifelong care for aging, injured and displaced farm animals.

Life was full.

Until that routine scan changed the plan.

“We didn’t know if this had been developing for three weeks or thirty years,” Tim says. “But Dr. Gupta told me he couldn’t, in good conscience, leave it untreated.”

Living in rural New Brunswick made the diagnosis even more frightening.

“They pretty much told me that if it did burst, an hour from any major hospital... that would probably be the end of me.”

Tim had faced heart surgery before. But when he was three, his family had to travel an entire day to Toronto to find the specialized care he needed.

Four decades later, he was facing another heart crisis.

This time, the specialized care he needed was right here at home at the New Brunswick Heart Centre.

An extraordinarily complex case

Tim's childhood surgery had left extensive scar tissue behind, making his anatomy and the operation he now needed far more complex.

In many cases like Tim's, surgery would involve cooling the body and temporarily stopping blood flow to the body, and sometimes the brain. Because of Tim's previous repair and the complexity of his anatomy, the traditional route wasn't ideal.

Cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Saurabh Gupta and the Horizon cardiac team worked alongside the interventional radiology team to develop an innovative approach to Tim's care.

The team brought advanced imaging and open-heart surgical expertise together in an interventional radiology suite at Saint John Regional Hospital.

First, Tim underwent a left carotid-subclavian bypass procedure in late summer 2025 to prepare for the main operation. Weeks later, he returned for the second stage, the complex aneurysm repair itself.

The hybrid approach allowed the team to visualize Tim's anatomy in real time using advanced imaging while operating, avoiding the need to stop blood flow to his brain or body.

“The way Dr. Gupta structured the surgery allowed me to recover quicker and with fewer complications,” Tim says. “I was out of ICU the next morning. That’s incredible.”

Expertise, innovation and teamwork

Tim didn't know the full complexity of what his cardiac team had accomplished until later.

What he did know was how it felt to walk into the room that morning.

“Walking into the operating room, it wasn’t what I expected at all. There was equipment everywhere and people moving in and out, each with a role to play. But instead of making me nervous, it gave me comfort. I could see the whole team working together for me.”

Tim has since compared the experience to flying.

When you hit severe turbulence, he says, you look to the flight crew. If they're calm, collected and continuing to do their jobs, you know you're going to be okay.

Heart surgery was the worst turbulence of Tim's life.

But around him was a team of cardiac surgeons, imaging specialists, anesthesiologists and other health care professionals, each with a role to play in his care.

“For NBHC, a hybrid OR is not just about new equipment; it's about elevating patient care and safety, ultimately improving outcomes.”

— Dr. Saurabh Gupta, Cardiovascular Surgeon, New Brunswick Heart Centre

More than a patient

As Tim waited for surgery, he remembers feeling uneasy.

Then his anesthesiologist began asking him about the animals back home in Codys.

He kept Tim talking about the animals they had helped at the sanctuary, gently pulling his thoughts away from the procedure ahead.

For those few minutes, Tim wasn't thinking about his heart. He was thinking about home.

That conversation continued until he quietly drifted off.

When Tim woke up, the procedure was behind him.

Back home to Jamie

By the next morning, Tim was sitting up.

Within a week and a half, he was back home in Codys with Jamie and the animals that depended on them.

The faster recovery was particularly meaningful because of the physical work required to operate Lily's Place. In addition to his career as a realtor, Tim plays a critical role in caring for the animals and maintaining the property.

And the ordinary parts of life began to mean something different.

Waking up beside Jamie.

Feeding the animals.

Looking out across the sanctuary.

Making plans for their future.

“For me, it meant another chance at life,” he says. “I know that the way they did it is the reason I was able to recover more quickly. But it’s not just about me. This kind of surgery could help so many others.”

Preparing for the future of cardiac care

Tim's story is a powerful example of what can happen when expertise, advanced technology, teamwork and innovation come together around a patient.

Now, thanks to the generosity of donors, Saint John Regional Hospital is preparing for another important step forward.

Through the Working Wonders Campaign for Surgical Excellence, donors have funded a new cardiac-enabled Hybrid Operating Room, and preparations are underway to begin construction.

The purpose-built Hybrid OR will permanently combine advanced imaging technology, including high-resolution CT-quality imaging, with a fully equipped surgical theatre. It will allow cardiac surgeons, vascular surgeons and interventional specialists to work together seamlessly in one space to perform complex procedures.

For patients, that means the potential for safer surgeries, reduced risk of stroke and complications, shorter ICU stays, faster recoveries, better long-term outcomes and exceptional care close to home.

“The combination of advanced imaging and precise surgical intervention would reduce operative time and risk. It would be a game-changer for patients like Mr. Clancy.”

— Dr. Saurabh Gupta

Tim's experience shows the extraordinary level of expertise and innovation already here at the New Brunswick Heart Centre.

The new Hybrid OR will give these teams a purpose-built environment where that expertise, collaboration and advanced technology can come together for patients across New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Another chance

Today, Tim continues to regain his strength and return to the work he loves alongside Jamie at Lily's Place.

He also agreed to do something that doesn't come naturally to him: share his story.

“If telling my story helps someone else get this kind of care, then I’ve done my part. I’m just grateful to be here.”

For Tim, exceptional cardiac care meant getting back home.

Back to Jamie. Back to the animals. Back to ordinary days that suddenly didn't feel ordinary at all.

And thanks to the generosity of donors, the New Brunswick Heart Centre is preparing for what's possible next.

Help keep exceptional heart care close to home.