Albany Parking Authority Executive Director Matt Peter says a nearly fatal health scare is giving him new perspective.
Peter, a Democrat who represents the 5th district on the Albany County Legislature, is from Long Island and came upstate to attend the University at Albany. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 2006 and a master’s degree in International Relations and Comparative Politics in 2007. It didn’t take long to get into politics.
"I applied to be a graduate intern in the chamber operations of then Governor Spitzer," Peter said. "And then after I graduated, I was hired on full time in the governor's appointments office. From there, when Governor Spitzer resigned, I was sent to the tax department as where I was a grade 18. I also in my spare time, was working on campaigns, local campaigns, even some congressional justice volunteering, and then I also got involved with young democrats eventually becoming the state vice president and the local, you know, county chair, county, president of it, became a committee person, all that stuff. And then the Senate Democrats won the majority, and I was hired on to be a financial analyst in the Senate Finance Committee, doing tax policy, economic development policy. I did that for three years, while in my spare time, also doing campaigns, you know, some political consulting that eventually led me to work with then-City Treasurer Kathy Sheehan, I quit the Senate to run her campaign, full-time, for mayor, and after we won, I became her chief of staff for two and a half years."
In 2016, Peter left to become the Executive Director of the Albany Parking Authority, where he replaced aging enforcement technology and spearheaded the launch of the ParkAlbany app.
Three years later, Peter was elected to the county legislature, pursuing his political passions. Life was good. Suddenly last Christmas, a medical dilemma popped up relating to a family history of high blood pressure. Peter says his began randomly spiking to dangerous levels.
"I started seeing a cardiologist, I was 37," said Peter. "And, you know, what we found also in getting CT scans, was they found a very, very minor aneurysm in my heart, and my aorta, and it was in the descending part of it. It was so small that they wanted to monitor it, but they felt that with blood pressure being under control now with the medication, you know, people can have those aneurysms for decades. And as long as they're monitoring, it really shouldn't be a problem. And on some of my checkups, the despite my blood pressure being under control, the aneurysm seemed to grow a little bit. And that's a little abnormal. So we again thought, maybe some additional controls on the blood pressure medication would help. And then all of a sudden, I want to say two Sundays ago, I had some pain in my chest that was odd. It didn't feel like a heart attack or anything like that. It actually affected the right side of my body and the bottom of the center part of my chest, not the left part. And it went away, but it felt very achy, you know, my back ached. And it didn't go away the next day. And then finally, on a Tuesday, I was coming back from an event. And I was having trouble walking without stopping. And there was a big pain in my chest. And so my partner who is a doctor, as well, as my cardiologist, told me, I should go to the hospital."
Peter says tests at Albany Medical Center showed the aneurysm had burst.
"They told me I had 20 minutes to go into surgery. I quickly had to get my affairs in order, sent a message to my parents about my, you know, last sort of, just in case. The doctors were very confident that I would come out on the other side pretty well. But they were very concerned what they were seeing with things and act of collapse with some, you know, fluid around my heart and things of that nature. My partner was with me, she happened to be on call that evening, and met me in the ER. I gave her you know, several numbers, including, you know, the mayor who was absolutely supportive, and everything just being like, and some of my employees just to make sure they knew what was going on. I messaged my parents, you know, about any final requests I had, just in case I didn't make it. And then I was in surgery for five and a half hours. And I woke up the next day, and it was a breathing tube. And, you know, been making progress ever since," Peter said.
Peter says he was later told that if four or five more hours had passed or if he'd gone to sleep, he would not have woken up.
"I think it's made me realize to a certain extent all time is limited, not to take things for granted and, you know, try to experience as much as possible and follow through with things. Generally speaking, what this really does is, like, you know, it really hits on the fact that no one is sort of exempt, right, like, to a certain extent," said Peter. "I guess I would say, you know, individuals my age, like this was not a classic aneurysm, it seems that there might be a genetic component like, that this was a genetic anomaly that appeared and didn't follow normal pathways. And because of that, that's something that I think people need to be aware of, and they need to be careful that like, just because you're young and even relatively healthy, and checking in with doctors, you have to be really aware of your surroundings and, you know, really aware of the possibilities. You know if I hadn't been to a cardiologist and knew that there was a small aneurysm there, a growing aneurysm, I probably would have ignored everything as sort of discomfort, you know, just as something that I just have to deal with just like a cramp or a pulled muscle or something like that, and I wouldn't have made it. I really encourage people to, you know, if you have high blood pressure, got family history, you know, check it out because knowing what to do when something doesn't feel right could very well save your life as it did mine."
Well on the road to recovery, Peter is back on his "relatively normal schedule" and diet, keeping a watchful eye on his blood pressure, embracing the political fabric of the Albany he's come to love as a legislator and a department head.
"There's some great economic development and other projects that are going on throughout downtown and things of that nature that I want to, you know, see through and help where I can," Peter said. "And at the county level, mental health initiatives and small business, economic development work as well as transportation work. There's a lot to do a lot that I can help and, you know, really, I want to enjoy my time I want to, you know, continue to feel fulfilled by my, my work, which I am, I want to, you know, enjoy time with my, with my partner, you know, and generally try to be here for her a little while longer. You know, I'm hopeful and confident based on what the doctors are saying that, you know, this might be a one and done, you know, now that the aneurysm is gone, it potentially, like that specific one won't come back. And hopefully, I will be able to continue, but, you know, it's a little too early think about the future."
Peter doesn't want anyone else to experience what he's endured over the last year. "You know, it's not too early to see a cardiologist in your 30s. You might be surprised what you find and, you know, it's better to be safe than sorry on that. But, you know, it's better to be preventative than afterwards because, you know, if you wait too long, it's too late," Peter said.
