One day before her 99th birthday, Bessie Nixon of Springfield Gardens, Queens, happily accepted good wishes today from the North Shore University Hospital surgeon who recently saved her life. To Mrs. Nixon and her three daughters, her recovery from heart bypass surgery has been nothing short of a miracle.

At a news conference at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Mrs. Nixon told hospital staff and reporters how she instructed her surgeon, Gustave Pogo, MD, of the hospital’s Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, to do everything in his power to save her. “I told my doctor I want to live,” she said emphatically. “I told him to do whatever he needed to do.”

Bessie Nixon, of Queens, hugs her surgeon, Gustave Pogo, MD, as she celebrates her 99th birthday, less than two months after open-heart surgery.

For many in today’s society, age 90 has become the new 60, as more and more nonagenarians (as people in their 90's are called) are undergoing cardiac surgery. Over the past three years, for instance, North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center have performed heart surgeries (mostly valve repairs) on about 50 patients over the age of 90. But at age 98, Mrs. Nixon takes the cake as North Shore-LIJ’s oldest open-heart surgery patient – she was presented with a heart-shaped Valentine’s/birthday cake at today’s news conference.

The spunky, independent Mrs. Nixon had been caring for herself in her home, following the death of her husband of nearly 50 years. On December 23, 2008, she called her daughter Juanita McCray, 75, to report that that she was not feeling well. Mrs. McCray, in turn, called her sister, Bess Reynolds, 78, who contacted their youngest sister, Ruby Landeau, 69, and the sisters agreed to meet at their mother’s home and bring her to North Shore University Hospital. Mrs. Nixon refused to go by ambulance, saying, “If you call 911, they’re going to take me where they want to. I want to go to North Shore.”

After Mrs. McCray drove her mother to the hospital, Mrs. Nixon presented to her exam team with congestive heart failure, pulmonary edema, hypoxia and rapid atrial fibrillation. An echocardiogram revealed a leaking mitral valve, so Mrs. Nixon was admitted to the hospital. At first, she was treated with medication, and there was some concern about her ability to withstand a complicated surgery. But the strong-willed Mrs. Nixon told Dr. Pogo to do whatever was necessary and Dr. Pogo agreed to proceed with the mitral valve repair. The next day, on December 24, a new surprise--a cardiac catherization revealed that Mrs. Nixon also had two blocked arteries.

In a rigorous, five-hour procedure performed on December 26, Dr. Pogo performed a mitral valve repair and a two-vessel coronary artery bypass operation. Following a week of recovery in the hospital, with her loving daughters by her side, Mrs. Nixon was discharged and returned home on January 2. She and her doctor credit her excellent recovery to the love and support she continues to receive from her daughters.

At today’s news conference, Dr. Pogo explained the complexities involved in repairing both the mitral valve and the blocked arteries -- one procedure immediately following the other. It was important, he said, to view Mrs. Nixon as a whole person -- as a vibrant woman and loving mother -- and not simply as a 99-year-old statistic. This, he believed, was the true measure of practicing medicine.

Born February 21, 1910, Mrs. Nixon grew up on a farm in Georgia and has lived in Springfield Gardens, Queens, since 1955. Longevity runs in the family -- Mrs. Nixon’s mother lived to be 100 years old.

Mrs. Nixon’s daughters say they are delighted with Dr. Pogo’s progressive approach and their mother’s true grit. “We feel so blessed to have our mother with us,” said Mrs. Reynolds.

As for Mrs. Nixon, she says the secrets to her longevity are quite simple: “Don’t drink, don’t smoke, go to church and treat your body well.”

To reach the North Shore-LIJ Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, call 516-562-4970 or 718-470-7460.