Ken Woolsey Ties The Knot Ten Days After Heart Surgery

Love was in the air this Valentine’s Day in Glenrock — and for one local man, it marked more than a wedding. It was a celebration of a second chance.

Ken Woolsey, 61, married his fiancée, Lonna Heath Porter, on Feb. 14 at the Glenrock Senior Center — just 10 days after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery at Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper.

The whirlwind began Jan. 30 while Woolsey was at work building concrete forms, a tough, hands-on job. He started feeling a throbbing pain in his left arm and chest — something he’d never experienced before.

“I’d never had any heart trouble,” Woolsey said. “Then the pain went straight to my heart. I wasn’t sure what was happening, so I got changed and my boss took me to the emergency room.”

Doctors quickly confirmed he was having a heart attack. What he hoped might be a minor issue turned into major surgery within days.

Dr. Joseph Monfre, a cardiothoracic surgeon with Banner Health, performed the quadruple bypass alongside cardiologist Dr. Gary Idelchik. Monfre said most patients spend a couple of months recovering from open-heart surgery — and he can’t recall ever having someone with a wedding on the calendar less than two weeks later.

“Open heart surgery is a big deal, and it’s an even bigger deal when you have a wedding,” Monfre said. “We all knew this Valentine’s Day wedding was out there.”

Woolsey had one clear message for his doctors: fix it right.

“I told them, ‘Do whatever is going to last the longest,’” he said.

Friends urged him to rest. His bride-to-be even offered to postpone the ceremony. But Woolsey wouldn’t budge.

“She said we could postpone, but I said I don’t want to,” he said. “We sent out the invites. This has been planned, and nothing — not even heart surgery — is going to stop us.”

Doctors say the quick response from emergency staff and the cardiac care team made all the difference. For Idelchik, seeing Woolsey make it to his wedding day is a reminder of why they do the job.

“This is why we do what we do,” Idelchik said.

He also noted that heart disease doesn’t always come with warning signs and can affect even those who consider themselves healthy. If something feels off, he said, it’s worth getting checked out.

As Woolsey stood at the altar on Valentine’s Day, the moment represented more than a marriage. It was resilience. It was gratitude. And it was proof that sometimes, even after open-heart surgery, love just won’t wait.

“I’m getting my life back together,” Woolsey said. “And marrying her is the best way to start.”