He wrestled one medical crisis after another over five rough years. At 63, he says he’s never felt stronger.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Scott has a rather unusual definition of a rough five years.One crisis after another has put his health in jeopardy since 2020, yet ask the 63-year-old Cleveland Heights resident how he is doing today and the answer hardly sounds like it belongs at the end of that medical history. “I am more physically active and capable today than at any younger age,” he said.Scott’s story is part of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer’s Health Care Stories series, which highlights reader-submitted experiences across Northeast Ohio — stories that, taken together, reflect the compassion, skill and dedication of the region’s health care community.A litigation counsel for Eaton Corporation, Scott moved from Columbus to Greater Cleveland about a decade ago. His medical odyssey began unexpectedly in June 2020, when a lump roughly the size of an avocado pit appeared above his left collarbone seemingly overnight and led to a stage IV lymphoma diagnosis the following month. He spent the next nine months undergoing immunotherapy and chemotherapy under Cleveland Clinic oncologist Dr. Allison Winter.He had initially feared the worst, but the experience of being treated for cancer turned out far different. Scott and his wife arrived at appointments with plenty of questions after doing their own research, and he remembers Dr. Winter patiently working through each of them.“One assumes that a cancer diagnosis is a death sentence and an arduous treatment journey,” he said. “But the science is so strong and rapidly developing and the doctors so capable, that I always felt hopeful.”Dr. Winter also made a habit of asking his wife how she was doing. For him, that small gesture reflected an approach to care that acknowledged what his illness was putting them both through. Fortunately, he reached remission in April 2021.About six months after, Scott faced another crisis when he suddenly developed a fever that climbed to 105 degrees. That turned out to be West Nile virus encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain caused by a mosquito-borne virus that Scott believes he contracted while rowing on the Cuyahoga River. Although the first test came back negative, infectious disease specialist Dr. Carlos Isada had strong enough suspicions to order another spinal tap in pursuit of the diagnosis.The illness required 16 days in the hospital followed by another seven weeks recovering at home. Scott had to relearn how to write and speak in complete sentences while rebuilding enough stamina to simply walk to the street corner and back. It took nearly a year before he felt completely like himself again.Just weeks after reaching that point, another emergency unfolded. Once again, he was at the Cuyahoga River when things took a turn for the worse.This time, he was having a heart attack caused by a completely blocked coronary artery. An ambulance rushed him to Cleveland Clinic, where the scene awaiting him remains one of his clearest memories from five years of medical care. About a dozen medical professionals were already packed into a small emergency room when he arrived, while Scott was told to remain still and expect “a sudden and speedy whir of activity.” Everyone seemed to have an assigned task as the team stabilized and prepared him for an emergency procedure, all while working around one another in a space he remembers as remarkably cramped.“The teamwork of the heart attack team in the ER was quite something,” he recalled. “Every one of them had their own set of tasks and knew how to do them flawlessly without getting in one another’s way.”He was wheeled away for an emergency procedure within minutes, and Dr. Aravinda Nanjundappa was able to reopen the blocked artery and restore blood flow to his heart. In stark contrast to all that commotion, the interventional cardiologist calmly introduced himself and explained that the procedure was finished and everything had gone according to plan. Scott had been awake the entire time, yet the procedure went by so smoothly that he barely even realized it had begun in the first place: “They spoke and acted with such assurance and authority.”However, the ordeal did leave lasting damage. During a routine cardiology visit in 2024, he learned that the percentage of blood pumped out with each contraction had dropped low enough for doctors to diagnose him with heart failure. Despite remaining symptom-free, he began a treatment regimen under the care of Dr. Arianne Agdamag and Cleveland Clinic’s heart failure team. Scott’s heart function has improved significantly since then, even though his lymphoma returned in January 2024. Because the cancer is slow-growing, Dr. Winter has not recommended treatment yet.Through each diagnosis, Scott said his wife of 35 years has been his constant. He also credits recently retired Cleveland Clinic orthopedic surgeon Dr. George Muschler, who happens to be his next-door neighbor and has crossed the driveway on several occasions to offer advice.Being a lawyer has influenced how Scott views the whole experience. His work revolves around solving problems, and over the past five years, he has tried to approach his health the same way by trusting his family and doctors to work with him through each new challenge.“Through each illness or episode, I would describe my emotions as resilient and determined, as opposed to sad or afraid or bitter,” he said.Scott now exercises for about 90 minutes every weekday, combining cardio with strength training. He continues rowing, while also finding the time to play platform tennis, curling, skiing and hiking.He attributes that drive partly to what the past five years taught him about his own health, but also to the people who helped him through it. His care teams consistently gave him candid explanations, allowing him and his wife to understand what they were facing without losing hope.If Scott could ask those health care professionals to do one more thing for him, it would be to use his experiences to inspire others.“Tell the next patient my story,” he said. “They can and will make it through the most medically terrifying moments of their lives with their own hope and resilience and a spectacularly talented and caring medical team by their side.”Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and MetroHealth collectively employ thousands of Northeast Ohioans and care for millions of patients each year. 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