CU med student helps save his own life

DENVER - A University of Colorado medical student is learning what it is like to be a patient after a self- diagnosis landed him in the hospital.

In his first year of med school at CU, 27-year-old Owen Bowers was learning about the heart, when he discovered something was wrong with his.

"He would listen to his, then listen to mine, then listen to his," said his wife, Jenn Bowers.

Using a stethoscope, Owen Bowers could hear that something was not right.

"Usually it sounds like, lub-dub, lub-dub, and mine sounds like lub-swish, lub-swish, so it was kind of a give away something was going on," said Bowers.

After a visit to the student health center, Bowers was immediately referred to cardiologist Dr. Joseph Kay with the University of Colorado Hospital.

Kay diagnosed Bowers with congenital heart disease, which is when the heart forms abnormally before birth. In Bowers' case, he had a small aorta that was restricting blood flow to his heart.

"I just was shocked, so shocked," said Jenn Bowers after learning the news.

Six months after his diagnoses and after he completed his finals, Bowers underwent open-heart surgery to replace the valve.

"He's not cured, but his risk of sudden death has gone down," explained Kay.

Doctors say most people who have had congenital heart surgery need to go back for more surgery 20 years later.

Bowers, who is expected to go home this week, says he will worry about going under the knife again later, but for now he has a career to think about.

"I was really interested in cardiology before this, so after this I'll either love it or hate," laughed Bowers.

"The thing I keep thinking is that he is not even a doctor yet and he's already saved a life," said Jenn. "He saved his own life."