Gallaher a great officer who had a heart like few others
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – For over 30 years John Gallaher was known as a tough cop.
Rising through the ranks of the Slidell Police Department to achieve captain, Gallaher was always in tip-top shape and loved the adrenalin of being a police officer. He worked out through the grueling routine of CrossFit, was involved with the K-9 unit, other special forces, and was frequently seen on the front lines for big operations.
“There are two kinds of police officers,” he said. “Those that got their ass kicked in high school, and they are the ones who take advantage of having a badge. Or most of the officers are like me—we love the adrenalin of catching the bad guys and protecting the public.”
Gallaher retired with 33 years of service last summer, admitting “I miss police work every day.” Then on January 1 of 2022 the “tough cop” found out he was as human as everyone else—passing out from what turned out to be one of the rarest heart conditions a man can be born with. It led to major heart surgery and now his recommendation to others.
“You might think you are in good shape, but don’t wait. Get checked out,” he said.
When Gallaher passed out, the police officer in him still believed things would be fine and argued with family about going to the emergency room. But once at the ER, he was quickly admitted to the hospital and within days was diagnosed with what was believed to be a rare bicuspid aortic valve, complicated by an aneurysm in the aortic root.
It didn’t take long for him to have surgery on January 11 where respected Slidell cardiovascular surgeon Dr. John Breaux cracked his chest open for the valve replacement and aneurysm repair, only to find an even more rare situation. Gallaher had what is known as a unicuspid aortic valve.
Most humans are born with three aortic valves, but 1 in 10,000 people are born with the rare case of a bicuspid aortic valve, meaning you only have two. Gallaher had somehow survived his entire 55 years with the rarest case possible, a unicuspid valve, meaning he only had one. Additionally, the aneurysm meant blood was blowing at high pressure through his valve, meaning it could have ruptured the wall of his aortic valve at any time.
Breaux, who has performed over 10,000 heart surgeries in his 40-year career, said he had only seen a unicuspid valve one time before.
“Only one in 400,000 people have this,” Breaux said. “It’s extremely rare and Mr. Gallaher is very fortunate since most people who have an aneurysm like that die if it ruptures.”
How Gallaher performed at such a high level for the police department, and in his personal life through rigorous working out is still hard to comprehend. Had it not been for passing out on New Year’s Day he would have continued along with his life before something tragic might have happened.
“The funny thing is that I was relaxing at home and thought I had passed out. But when I came to, I was told my eyes were wide open and the people with me weren’t able to wake me up,” he said. “I felt fine, but finally agreed to go to the ER where they checked my heart rate and it was a little over 150. My normal rate is 50 and that’s when they immediately admitted me.”
As tests were done the diagnosis of what they thought was a bicuspid aorta was confirmed, along with the aneurysm.
“I was told that if I didn’t have surgery within a year I would die, and that didn’t mean I would even make it that long,” he stated. “I was told it was major surgery. As a cop I immediately went into work mode, which means to manage the chaos, but I knew my kids were scared, and I realized I didn’t have control over anything.
“That’s tough for a policeman like me,” he added.
Breaux is the son of a U.S. Navy veteran and came to Slidell in the fifth grade, graduating from Slidell High in 1984. He began attending Southeastern but knew several friends on the police department and decided to give it a try. Joining the Reserves in 1989 he found it to his liking.
“Even with the Reserves I enjoyed the adrenalin of something important happening that I could be a part of,” he said. “I was hired full time two years later and have always loved the action, especially working with the K-9 dogs and chasing down bad guys.”
After retiring in July 2021 he missed the work so much that he is now an investigator with the District Attorney’s Office.
But he admits that the stunning news about his heart, and what he calls the loss of control personally in his future, changed a lot about his perspective in life.
“I was always in such good shape. My cholesterol was low, I worked out hard all the time—the gym was my relaxing time,” he said. “But then to have something like this happen shows me that I’m not in control as much as I think.
“That’s why I am talking about this. If I could have this situation all these years and never know it then it should tell anyone to get checked as you get older. Don’t put it off and later think ‘I wish I would have done something.’”
Gallaher said that once he knew the surgery was scheduled it became harder mentally on him than he could have imagined. And now that the surgery is over there are changes in the way he views things.
“I’ve been in control for 31 years, especially for my four daughters,” he said. “This thing got me a little scared. But I appreciate Dr. Breaux since he told me ‘give me control and I’m going to fix you and give you your life back.’”
Gallaher knew how serious the surgery was since he was told “go home for the next four days and get your affairs in order. It was very surreal to know that in a few days I was going to have surgery, but I might not live past that point.”
He said it was his 24-year-old daughter Jade who stayed strong by his side as the surgery drew near.
“I remember the bed rolling down the hall to the operating room and the hardest part was wanting to get out of the bed,” he said.
But after the six-hour surgery he remembers waking up and having a tube down his throat.
“I woke up choking, but I was glad to wake up,” he said. “That’s when Dr. Breaux told me my situation was even more rare than we thought.”
When he began rehabbing Gallaher said it was “surprising how easily I was out of breath. But I stuck with it, walking an hour every day, and have recently been released to begin CrossFit again.”
“I hope people read this story and go get checked,” he said. “It showed me that I really do have an expiration date. I made work such a priority and now realize my relationship with family and friends may not always be there. This has really changed me.”