How do you thank the Ocala cardiac team that saved your life? Mac n' cheese and brisket

Andy Fillmore
·3 min read

Registered Nurse Morgan Ragsdale said it was the best "thank you" she’s ever gotten.

Ragsdale and about 65 fellow members of the AdventHealth Ocala Cardiovascular Services team were treated to lunch on June 9 by former heart surgery patient Jay Cowart and his Sweet Baby Cheeses – yes, that's the name – food truck.

"The team saved my life and I attribute the short recovery time to being comfortable with the care. I'm definitely up to 100% now and doing the work I love and my daily activities.  Saving my heart helped my family and friends who depend upon us, too," Cowart said.

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The 30-foot lunch truck parked next to the hospital, 1500 SW First Ave., Ocala, and provided a thank you meal of brisket atop macaroni and cheese with "yum-yum" sauce and chicken atop macaroni and cheese.

Room for dessert? Brownies!

Members of the hospital's Cardiac Cath Lab (CCL), Cardiovascular Operating Room (CVOR) and Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU), were served. Some team members dressed in green scrubs lined up at the food truck and others had food delivered into the hospital.

Marcy Sieradski, manager of the CCL, CVOR and CVICU, said the teams, under Director Lynn Smith, work together to assist each patient.

Jay Cowart listened to his body

Cowart, 59, had no history of heart trouble. But in February he began to feel excessive fatigue.

His primary care doctor scheduled a stress test for March 7. During the session, Cowart had to be transported to AdventHealth Ocala hospital's emergency department by ambulance.

On March 8, Cowart was treated in the Cardiac Cath Lab, where heart artery blockages were found. He underwent surgery on March 10. His surgeon was AdventHealth cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. James Lonquist.

“(Cowart's) prognosis is excellent," Lonquist said on June 9 during the "thank you" lunch.

"You not only saved this heart, but all of those hearts," Jay Cowart told his surgeon Dr. James Lonquist, on June 9 as Cowart pointed to his wife and food truck employees. Cowart wanted to thank the surgery team that performed his bypass surgery in March, so he served them lunch out of his Sweet Baby Cheeses food truck, which he parked outside AdventHealth Ocala.

He said Cowart had a "life threatening disease" that involved blockage in three arteries supplying blood to the heart. It could have led to a heart attack.

The bypass can be done using vein material – for example, from the leg, Lonquist explained.

He said Cowart's recovery is "ahead of schedule."

Six weeks after surgery, Jay Cowart was back in full swing

Cowart was released from the hospital on March 15. For about four weeks he limited his his work to driving only. After six weeks he was back in the swing of things.

Dee Ballard, who worked the truck with the Cowart and his wife, Tammy, described Jay Cowart as energetic.

Jay and Tammy Cowart share a laugh on June 9 while serving a "thank you" lunch outside AdventHealth Ocala hospital.
Jay and Tammy Cowart share a laugh on June 9 while serving a "thank you" lunch outside AdventHealth Ocala hospital.

The Cowarts moved to the Citra area from Tampa, where Jay Cowart had worked with an engineering firm.

They decided to start a food truck about six years ago and turned to Facebook to conduct a poll to choose a name. Sweet Baby Cheeses won.

One house – er, truck – specialty is cheese quesadillas, with Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses.

The Cowarts have known each other for 15 years and been married for five. They work together. Tammy Cowart is also involved in a medical support company, UKG or Ultra Kronos Group.

Jay Cowart, right, serves up macaroni and cheese outside AdventHealth Ocala hospital on June 9.
Jay Cowart, right, serves up macaroni and cheese outside AdventHealth Ocala hospital on June 9.

They bring the food truck to venues including the Ocala Downtown Market and the Florida Agriculture Center and Horse Park. They claim to operate "Ocala's premier grilled cheese truck.”

The Cowarts said they were blessed to find AdventHealth Ocala and the healing Cardiovascular Services teams.

“They made me feel safe and taken care of. This allowed me to leave him in good hands when I had to take care of other things,” Tammy wrote in a text following the luncheon.

Tyler Mize, physician's assistant and team member, said open heart surgery is not a "walk in the park." He's glad Jay Cowart is doing well.

"We served him," Mize said, "and now he's serving back."

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala, Florida food truck owner thanks the medical team that saved him