Behind in the count

Jon Copeland was walking to his neighborhood gym when chest pains stopped him in his tracks.

The longtime men’s baseball coach at Trinity College of Jacksonville thought he could “walk it off,” but the tightness in his chest persisted.

After being seen at the Baptist Oakleaf Emergency Center, Copeland found out his chest pain wasn’t due to a heart attack, and was immediately transferred to Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville for further testing.

“When I got to the Baptist Jacksonville Emergency Center, I was still in a lot of pain,” he said. “My white blood cell count was off the charts, and my kidneys were starting to shut down.”

Fearing Copeland might not survive the night, Subrato J. Deb, MD, MPH, a thoracic surgeon with Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center, along with critical care intensivist Eddy J. Guiterrez, MD, decided to perform emergency surgery.

They found that Copeland had a ruptured esophagus, a rare and life-threatening emergency requiring immediate, aggressive intervention to stop the bleeding and manage infection in the chest cavity.

Stop on solid foods

According to Dr. Deb, the tissues surrounding Copeland’s esophagus – the hollow muscular tube that transports food, liquids and saliva from the mouth to the stomach – were so damaged that his esophagus had to be temporarily separated from his stomach to save his life.

“That meant I could no longer eat by mouth until it was reconnected,” Copeland said.

In the meantime, Dr. Deb created a small pouch in Copeland’s stomach so he could consume liquids.

Because physicians at Baptist MD Anderson and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, are clinically integrated, Copeland’s care extended far beyond a single hospital. Dr. Deb was able to seamlessly collaborate with colleagues in Houston to explore innovative reconstruction options.

That collaboration led to a referral to Stephen G. Swisher, MD, FACS, head of the Division of Surgery at MD Anderson. Dr. Swisher is one of a limited number of surgeons in the nation with expertise in reattaching the stomach to the esophagus, a rare and highly complex reconstruction. Through this collaboration, Copeland was able to receive care from a uniquely qualified surgeon.

Before being seen by Dr. Swisher, Copeland developed a colon condition that required more surgery to remove dead tissue.

“That was another setback, but I was eventually able to be seen by Dr. Swisher, who told me it would take another lengthy surgery to reconnect my esophagus,” Copeland said.

Back to his calling

After consuming specialized liquid formulas or blended food via a feeding tube for more than a year, Copeland had his long-awaited reconstruction surgery at MD Anderson. The 12-hour operation included two other MD Anderson physicians, Kelly K. Hunt, MD, FACS, a surgical oncologist, and Peirong Yu, MD, FACS, a plastic surgeon and expert in tracheoesophageal reconstruction.

A few months later, Copeland was able to eat solid food again. Last summer, he and his wife, Stephanie, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary at their favorite steak restaurant.

“Being deprived of the ability to eat by mouth is the worst physical situation I have ever had to deal with,” said Copeland, a college baseball coach for 30 years who missed parts of both the 2024 and 2025 spring seasons due to various hospitalizations.

During that span, he shed more than 75 pounds but never lost the appetite to return to what Trinity College of Jacksonville athletic director John Jones said was Copeland’s calling: “Coaching the game he loves and mentoring young men for the glory of God.”

“My players sent me notes while I was in the hospital and signed a big poster for me while I was in rehab,” added Copeland, who recently began his 20th year as a collegiate head coach. “Now, I’m feeling a whole lot better heading into a brand-new baseball season. Dr. Deb saved me from certain death, and I can’t thank him and his colleagues at MD Anderson in Houston enough.”

If you are experiencing chest pain or shortness of breath, call 911 or go to the Emergency Room immediately. Baptist Health has Emergency Centers located throughout Northeast Florida, all open 24/7.