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As you know, Shoot from the Heart was started over five years ago by the McCoy family to benefit the American Heart Association in hopes of honoring their father who they lost to a heart attack. Since its inception, Shoot from the Heart has raised over $24,000 for the American Heart Association. This would not have been possible without your help!
It wasn’t until recently, through routine physicals, that both Ray and Scott were diagnosed with a rare disease called VHL. In short VHL (Von Hippel Lindau) is a genetic condition involving abnormal growth of blood vessels affecting about 1 in 32,000 people. We feel the need to share this information because, while we’ll never know for sure, we strongly believe Dad may have had VHL as well. Ray and Scott have now both had surgeries to remove a Pheochromocytoma. Pheochromocytoma (Pheo) is a tumor of the adrenal gland and occurs as a manifestation of VHL. These tumors are typically benign (not cancerous) which was the case for both Ray and Scott. However, Pheos produce catecholamines. High levels of catecholamines can result in high blood pressure (something Dad, Ray and Scott all had) as well as other symptoms. These tumors are considered dangerous because of their unpredictable behavior. Patients with Pheos may experience blood pressures high enough to cause a stroke or heart attack. That being said, we now believe Dad may have had a Pheo that ultimately caused the heart attack that took his life. So why are we mentioning this? As much as we’d love to continue to honor our father and support the American Heart Association, our family now believes we need to focus our energy on learning more about VHL and supporting each other while both Ray and Scott continue to be screened for VHL related tumors and other issues caused by VHL. We want to thank you all very much for your support and the friendship you have shown the McCoy family and the American Heart Association over the past four years. With heart-felt gratitude, Ray, David, Scott and the rest of the McCoy family
