 |
Dr. Jack Di Palma and Bill Moylan have been friends since high school. Through their longstanding friendship, Moylan was able to learn about and schedule a LINX procedure for treating GERD at USA Health University Hospital. The two friends attended a University of South Alabama baseball game the night before the procedure.
|
Bill Moylan grew up with Dr. Jack Di Palma in Bellerose, Long Island, New York, and the two first played music together in the Bishop Reilly High School band before forming their own wedding band with two other friends. Moylan worked as a police officer and detective in Nassau County in New York. After 26 years of police service, he left law enforcement to work in cyber security consulting, from which he recently retired. He lives in Massapequa, New York, on Long Island’s South Shore. Di Palma, after graduating from medical school and service in the Air Force, joined the USA College of Medicine in Mobile.
 |
In 1972, Dr. Jack Di Palma, keyboard, and Bill Moylan, guitar,
play in the wedding band they formed with two other friends
called The Generation Gap.
|
“Social media is irreplaceable as far as keeping in touch with people that you’ve been separated from by time or distance,” Moylan said, adding that he sees a lot of the posts that Di Palma posts about USA Health.
It was on Facebook that Moylan saw a post Di Palma made about a GERD presentation. In discussing the condition further, Di Palma suggested that Moylan, who was battling with GERD, consider the new LINX procedure, sending him additional information on the laparoscopic surgery.
The LINX procedure essentially uses a set of magnetic beads to assist the lower esophageal sphincter in doing its job. Moylan said that, as a handyman, the mechanical solution aspect of the procedure that addresses the problem rather than just treating the symptoms appealed to him. He also noted that the surgery does not involve any anatomical changes and can be reversed if necessary.
Moylan educated himself as much as possible about the surgery and decided to pursue the idea further, so Di Palma told him about USA Health’s Dr. Bill Richards’ experience and success with the surgery and suggested he have the procedure at USA Health University Hospital.
In dealing with GERD, Moylan said the most noticeable symptoms were a constant throat clearing, choking at night, and a disruption of his sleep. It was this that impacted him the most and ultimately led him to have to take double doses of protein pump inhibitors, which are used to treat GERD symptoms.
“If you don’t get a good night’s sleep, then your whole life is affected,” he said. “It impacts your whole day. It impacts your ability to work and enjoy life and your interactions with others.”
A month and a half post-surgery, Moylan had already seen a great improvement in his heartburn symptoms and his ability to sleep.
“Prior to surgery, I was frequently awakened at night due to regurgitation. My symptoms have greatly improved if not eliminated entirely at this point,” he said. “I no longer take the double-dose acid reflux prescription medication that I have been taking for years. I have had no heartburn or other symptoms of GERD since the surgery.”
Moylan said that he was released from the hospital the same day as his surgery and the laparoscopic incisions have healed well. He felt very well prepared to deal with the recovery based on the guidelines provided and has had very little pain.
“My overall experience with at USA Health was very positive,” Moylan said. “Everyone from the administrative staff and medical teams were friendly, helpful and extremely professional.”
When choosing where to have his surgery, Moylan credited the USA Health College of Medicine as being one of the main reasons he chose to have his surgery at USA in Mobile.
“A hospital’s close association with a medical school working on new or improved surgical techniques and alternate solutions to medical issues is where you’re likely to see breakthrough approaches first,” he said.
Learn more about the LINX procedure at USA Health.
