Dan DeBruler isn’t one to make a fuss about his health. He tends to power through the occasional illness or injury without complaint. But for years, he had recurrent symptoms that were often worrisome enough to send him to the emergency department.
“I’d say it was at least eight times, over the past 12 or 15 years,” he said. “Multiple medical facilities, both military and civilian. I’d get these terrible chest pains, which I know you shouldn’t ignore. And it was always handled with care, because a man over 40 with chest pain usually means a heart attack.”
But his heart would always check out fine, and by then DeBruler’s intense, burning chest pain had usually subsided anyway. Acid reflux seemed like a likely culprit, so sometimes he would leave with a new prescription or new advice: don’t drink coffee, sleep with your head elevated, keep your stress under control.
Then he’d be fine for weeks or months. And just when he thought he’d solved the problem, the same agony would return.
At one point last year, it was the worst it had ever been. He was at a party with family and friends when his chest was again seized with a fiery discomfort, so he went outside to walk it off. When he hadn’t returned, his fellow guests – including a paramedic and a nursing student – went to investigate.
“They found me reclining in a van, sweating profusely,” he said. “And they thought, ‘Oh wow, he’s having a heart attack.’”
He left that party in an ambulance, but ended up with the same result: no apparent heart trouble, and no real explanation for why this kept happening.
Finally, earlier this year, he found relief. The episodes had become so frequent that he visited the emergency department at Cape Fear Valley Hoke Hospital three times in a single week.
“Those three visits were the first times I’d ever been there,” he said.
The first two times, he had the same familiar outcome. But on the third visit, emergency physician Jody Lakey, DO, had a new hunch and ordered an ultrasound.
“And we had a new answer,” DeBruler said. “It was actually a very faulty gallbladder.”
While gallbladder pain is typically felt on the right side, just under the ribs, it can sometimes present in the chest – feeling very much like a heart attack. It’s often precipitated by a meal with oily foods, such as french fries or creamy sauces.
“I was able to retrace the days between those two visits this time around,” he said, “and what I had consumed in those days. It seemed to have no rhyme or reason before, but now it made perfect sense.”
Days later, general surgeon Ovie Appresai, MD, removed the gallbladder that had tormented DeBruler for so long.
“I feel great now,” said DeBruler. “I’ve learned a lot about what the gallbladder does, so I’m just careful not to eat things the gallbladder was used to handling for me. My wife and I eat pretty healthy to begin with, so it’s just been this small adjustment.”
With the mystery solved and the chest pains behind him, DeBruler is looking forward to enjoying life without that unpredictable misery. And he’s grateful for the people who worked so hard to figure things out.
“The nurses, PAs, attendants and technicians all took their roles to heart,” he said. “And I finally got it resolved. I felt like they really raised the bar on what healthcare should look like.”

(Photo: Dan DeBruler thought his chest pain was a heart attack, but was diagnosed with a faulty gallbladder instead. Photo courtesy of Cape Fear Valley Health)