There are moments in life that divide everything into before and after. For Charlie Renfroe, then 81, that moment came with a quiet but devastating directive. 

His vascular condition—an aggressive infection attacking his aorta, the body’s main artery—had progressed beyond what his local care team believed was treatable. Options had run out.  

“They told me I had about two weeks left,” Renfroe says. “That was at the end of December 2023, and my entire family gathered at our home.” 

Surrounded by his wife, Patty, and their children and grandchildren, Renfroe took in their familiar, loving faces. They shared updates, memories, laughter, hugs and tears. They had conversations they thought might be among their last. 

Renfroe knew he wanted more time with his family, which was expanding into the next generation of great-grandchildren. 

 “I just thought, let me try one more time,” he says.

A recommendation from a physician friend led him to Yazan Duwayri, professor and chief of vascular surgery at Emory. Renfroe was told to come straight to Emory University Hospital after New Year’s.

Duwayri remembers the urgency. 

“This was a truly tough condition,” he says. “He had an infection in the aorta—the main blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the brain, organs and limbs. It’s extremely rare for an infection to attack the aorta itself, especially in that region where it branches to vital organs.”

“To a degree, it was appropriate to think this was a non-survivable infection,” Duwayri says. 

A customized approach to vascular repair

Traditional surgery wasn’t an option. Open surgery on the aorta would have required stopping blood flow to critical organs—something many older patients don’t survive.

Instead, Duwayri proposed a highly customized, minimally invasive repair using a modified stent—essentially rebuilding part of the aorta from within. “When I met Charlie, I told him I believed we could help,” he says. “But this wasn’t standard. Charlie also would not have qualified to our specialized clinical trial devices because they are designed for more ideal conditions.”

“We ended up modifying a stent here to fit his anatomy,” Duwayri says. “We do this in select cases when there are no other options.”

Before moving forward, one critical question remained: Would this surgery give Charlie not just more time, but meaningful time? 

“It matters to know if a patient can return to a good quality of life,” Duwayri says. “He was active, engaged with his family and community. That made the decision clearer.”

Renfroe remembers the moment plainly.

“I asked him, ‘Doc, based on where I am now—zero percent—what chance do you give me if you do this?’ He said 85%.”

Charlie looked at his wife and daughter.

“We said, ‘Go for it. We’ll take 85% of anything.’”

The procedure happened the next day: Jan. 8, 2024. Just four days later, Renfroe was out of the hospital.

“I was very confident this was going to work,” Duwayri says. “And it did.” 

An unexpected twist at a follow-up

Renfroe returned home to recover, believing the worst was behind him.

During a routine follow-up scan, however, doctors found cancer between Renfroe’s stomach and esophagus. “It was a tough moment,” he says. “But after everything else, I just took it one step at a time.”

Renfroe underwent two months of chemotherapy and radiation, losing 25 pounds in the process.

“It was a little rough on him,” Duwayri says. “But he recovered nicely.”

By October 2024, treatment was complete.

“At his last workup, his scans showed no evidence of residual cancer, infection or aneurysm,” Duwayri says. 

Two and a half years after being prepared to say his goodbyes, Renfroe is still going strong. “I feel great,” he says. “I’m very blessed and grateful.” 

He still takes preventative antibiotics and medications daily and abides by even the smallest instruction from his care team.

“Charlie’s been a great patient,” Duwayri says. “He follows every recommendation and shows up to every follow-up. That makes a difference.”

Renfroe exercises several days a week at the YMCA. He travels regularly, visiting children and grandchildren from Charleston to Nashville to Birmingham. Recently, he’s been enjoying time in Florida—poolside.

“We’ve got 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, with two more on the way,” he says. “It’s a blessing to be here for that.”

Faith, family, and the ‘healing train’

Renfroe speaks openly about what carried him through.

“There was no fear of dying,” he says. “I just didn’t want to go quite so soon.”

He describes the days between his terminal diagnosis and his life-saving surgery. “It was God’s grace that got me from December 26 to January 7,” he says. “I always say—you’re either on the healing train or the glory train. I guess I was on the healing train.”

Grateful for the care he received, Renfroe has since given back, supporting Emory’s vascular surgery program and helping expand research and training in complex aortic procedures. Contributions like his are already making a difference.

“The funds go into growing the aortic program,” Duwayri says. “They support research, help us recruit top surgeons, and train the next generation.”

Renfroe was invited back to Emory for the opening of a new hybrid heart and vascular operating room—a multimillion-dollar facility designed for advanced, personalized procedures like the one that saved his life.

In the new heart and vascular procedural suite, surgical and cardiology specialists can work side-by-side using the latest technology, providing innovative care and improved outcomes.

“We want to support Dr. Duwayri’s skill and mission and to help him help others,” says Renfroe, now 83. 

Sometimes, it’s not about beating the odds—it’s about rewriting them entirely.

Written by Mary Loftus, design by Peta Westmaas.