It’ s a pain in the neck but it saves his life
Toms River Local 137 member Christopher Leighton is lucky to be alive.
In spring of 2015, Leighton began experiencing pain in the left side of his neck while he exercised. Without knowing the cause of the ache, Leighton decided to take advantage of Deborah Heart and Lung Center’ s Captain Buscio Program, which gives first responders the option to receive confidential comprehensive cardiovascular and pulmonary medical evaluations.
The results showed nothing significant, but the pain in his neck continued. During a routine checkup with his primary care physician, Dr. Steven Santangelo, Leighton discussed his neck pain. Dr. Santangelo directed him to a cardiologist who sent Leighton for a nuclear stress test where he learned what had been causing him his unexplained neck pain: inadequate blood flow to the lower portion of his heart. The results lead to a cardiac catheterization at the Deborah Heart and Lung Center, which revealed five significant blockages in his heart that were too severe for stents. Leighton was admitted that afternoon and scheduled for open-heart surgery the next day.
On Oct. 29, 2015, Leighton underwent lifesaving open-heart surgery, where Dr. Paul Burns removed veins from his chest and legs to replace the damaged ones in his heart.
During his recovery, Toms River Local 137 members refused to let him go it alone.
“ Chris is a tremendous guy,” noted State Delegate Jesse Robertazzi.“ He’ s usually the one leading the way to help others, so it was a tremendous feeling of satisfaction to have everybody respond to helping him.”
Leighton lives on a small farm in Bayville and his property is filled with projects that he started before the operation but could not finish due to his recovery. Member Steve Austin wanted to raise money to obtain a power log splitter, and State Delegate Jesse Robertazzi immediately agreed to help.
Through donations, the Local raised more than $ 2,000 and dozens of members volunteered to help at the property. With the help of a local business, Blair’ s Power Equipment, the Local was able to acquire the log splitter and assemble it.
On Dec. 5, 2015, Local 137 members surprised Leighton at his farm. Austin presented him with the log splitter and a workforce to help him clean the property; they split logs and stacked wood for hours.
“ I was speechless,” recalled Leighton.“ You really don’ t expect it, but our Local is really good about coming together for the community and coming together for each other, when needed.
With the support of his Local, Leighton made a full recovery and returned to full-duty in February. d
TOMS RIVER LOCAL 137
www. njcopsmagazine. com ■ MAY 2016 75