Team Tufts MC runner reflects on his patient experience at Tufts Medical Center
Running a marathon was the last thing on Ben Braun’s mind last February. Ben, a healthy thirty-year-old resident physician at UMass Medical, had just been hospitalized with severe myocarditis with cardiogenic shock. Severe myocarditis results in swollen heart muscle tissue and can cause chest pains, shortness of breath and a rapid heartbeat. Cardiogenic shock often happens during a heart attack and causes the heart to stop properly pumping blood to the rest of the body. As Ben’s health worsened, and risk of a heart attack or stroke increased, his doctors knew he needed experts in these conditions, so they urgently transferred him to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Tufts Medical Center.
Following several weeks at Tufts MC under the care of Jenica Upshaw, MD, who specializes in advanced heart failure, and her team, Ben was able to make a full recovery. As a physician himself, Ben knows great care when he sees it, saying “In my weeks-plus stay at Tufts MC, I received what I believe to be some of the finest cardiac care anywhere in the country. I truly believe had I not been transferred to Tufts MC, the outcome could have been much worse.” He could not compliment Dr. Upshaw enough stating “She has made herself available for me anytime I need her, and has truly gone above and beyond to help me in my journey to recover and return to work as an orthopedic surgery resident.”
Ben is not only healthy now, but is back to running, and is spending this winter training to run the 2022 Boston Marathon as part of Team Tufts MC. Dr. Upshaw is proud to know that Ben will be participating in his first Boston Marathon in April on behalf of Tufts Medical Center. She says “Ben always had a positive attitude, even with a diagnosis like this in the midst of a pandemic. I look forward to following his marathon journey!”
Interested in running the 2023 Boston Marathon with Team Tufts MC? Apply today to join our team! Check out our website to learn more about Team Tufts MC.