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The Touchies temporarily derailed by heart surgery
"Please do what you gotta do to avoid being where I was at"
Anthony Arellano underwent an 8 hour open-heart surgery
"Gotta say, this eight hour long open-heart surgery was rough," says Anthony Arellano, aka Stanze Touchie, who with his wife Mishey and Vaughn Franklin is one third of local pop-punk-rock trio The Touchies of the ordeal he underwent around two weeks ago. "My dilated aortic artery was repaired, congenital birth defect bicuspid valve replaced with tissue one, aortic root replaced, and quadruple bypass performed. [The] doctor didn't do the planned sextuplet bypass."
Arellano's operation took place at Scripps Memorial La Jolla Hospital. "I was born in 1971 with a bicuspid aortic valve that I didn't find out about until 2023," he tells the Reader about discovering his condition via an echo cardiogram recommended by his Mom. "Fast forward to 2026 when my doctor informed me that my aortic artery was dilated at 5.2 cm; it's only supposed to be around 3 cm and 5.5 cm is the danger zone for aortic dissection - the condition that killed John Ritter! I immediately scheduled the next available surgery appointment three months out with surgeon Richard Stahl M.D. at Scripps Memorial in La Jolla without hesitation."
An aneurysmal dilatation of the aortic arch is a dangerous and often silent bulging of the curved, "candy cane-shaped" section of the main artery carrying blood to the head, neck, and upper body. It risks fatal tearing (dissection) or rupture if left untreated.
"Since I'd be on operating table, I also had minor surgery to look for clogged arteries. Six were found. Ultimately, the surgeon bypassed four arteries, informing me that the remaining clogged arteries were small and we were pushing our luck already with dilated aortic artery repair, valve replacement. I opted for bovine tissue vs. higher maintenance mechanical valve and root replacement."
Arellano spent around a week in the hospital, and at this writing has been home around a week. "I encountered complications after surgery such as AFib, ironically now on blood thinners which I was trying to avoid by opting out of mechanical valve. Hopefully only temporarily. And [I had] excessive post surgery fluid buildup at the bottom of my left lung, making it hard to breathe. Another doctor made a drainage hole on my left back and used a tube to drain out around 3000 ml of bloody fluid, which provided instant relief."
He tells the Reader that the experience had a profound effect on him. "I asked myself 'How the eff did I get here?' when they wheeled me in for my pre-open heart surgery. I quickly surmised that it was a combination of being born with the heart defect, dealing with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and very bad life choices, such as eating junk just about every day and smoking a pack every other day of cigarettes since I was around 16 years old. I quit in July 2025 when I just couldn't do it anymore, every cigarette just made me feel like I had tumors all over my body."
Reflecting on his recovery, Arellano posted online "I know healthcare is a thing...I would not be in a good place had I not been married to Mishey. I don't work enough hours to qualify. This bill will probably be close or past a million bucks. So far, my Kaiser co-pay was $250, $150. Please do what you gotta do to avoid being where I was at. Diet, exercise, nicotine cessation. All that stuff comes back to bite you at some point."
Arellano (Of Worlds Long Dead) and his wife Mishey Moreno (formerly of Starcrossed) have played together locally since 1995, originally known as Happy Endings, a band later rechristened the Esthas. “That [name] was our tribute to Fox 6 News anchor Estha Trouw and her awesome pixie haircut,” according to Arellano.
The Touchies (“slang for cuddling with your special someone”) were founded around 2008 with Arellano (as Stanze Touchie) on lead vocals and guitar, and Moreno as Mishey Touchie on bass and backing vocals, currently joined by Vaughn Franklin (Downs Family, Screaming YeeHaws, The Fever Vault). The debut Touchies performance was June, 2009, at the Ruby Room. The band plays original rock-n-roll songs with a punk feel, as well as covering a few of their favorite rockers like the Groovie Ghoulies, the Muffs, the Undertones, etc. They were nominated for a 2011 San Diego Music Award for Best Local recording, for their album Friends of the Friendless.
At this writing, all signs are good for a quick and full recovery. "What a rollercoaster of emotions," Mishey Touchie posted online. "Don't worry, he will rock again soon."
Arellano tells the Reader "My wife Mishey took some time off work and is helping me get back on my feet. She's been cooking all my meals, running all my errands, taking me to my follow up appointments, and most importantly, going over all my meds and making sure I take the right doses."
Regarding upcoming band plans, he's guardedly optimistic. "As I get better, albeit baby steps, I may not be out of the woods for, like, a year or more. I may pick up where we let off. We love rocking out so much, so why not if we can? Definitely can't wait to just chill and play guitar again."
Here's something you might be interested in.
The Touchies temporarily derailed by heart surgery
"Please do what you gotta do to avoid being where I was at"
The Touchies temporarily derailed by heart surgery
"Please do what you gotta do to avoid being where I was at"
Anthony Arellano underwent an 8 hour open-heart surgery
"Gotta say, this eight hour long open-heart surgery was rough," says Anthony Arellano, aka Stanze Touchie, who with his wife Mishey and Vaughn Franklin is one third of local pop-punk-rock trio The Touchies of the ordeal he underwent around two weeks ago. "My dilated aortic artery was repaired, congenital birth defect bicuspid valve replaced with tissue one, aortic root replaced, and quadruple bypass performed. [The] doctor didn't do the planned sextuplet bypass."
Arellano's operation took place at Scripps Memorial La Jolla Hospital. "I was born in 1971 with a bicuspid aortic valve that I didn't find out about until 2023," he tells the Reader about discovering his condition via an echo cardiogram recommended by his Mom. "Fast forward to 2026 when my doctor informed me that my aortic artery was dilated at 5.2 cm; it's only supposed to be around 3 cm and 5.5 cm is the danger zone for aortic dissection - the condition that killed John Ritter! I immediately scheduled the next available surgery appointment three months out with surgeon Richard Stahl M.D. at Scripps Memorial in La Jolla without hesitation."
An aneurysmal dilatation of the aortic arch is a dangerous and often silent bulging of the curved, "candy cane-shaped" section of the main artery carrying blood to the head, neck, and upper body. It risks fatal tearing (dissection) or rupture if left untreated.
"Since I'd be on operating table, I also had minor surgery to look for clogged arteries. Six were found. Ultimately, the surgeon bypassed four arteries, informing me that the remaining clogged arteries were small and we were pushing our luck already with dilated aortic artery repair, valve replacement. I opted for bovine tissue vs. higher maintenance mechanical valve and root replacement."
Arellano spent around a week in the hospital, and at this writing has been home around a week. "I encountered complications after surgery such as AFib, ironically now on blood thinners which I was trying to avoid by opting out of mechanical valve. Hopefully only temporarily. And [I had] excessive post surgery fluid buildup at the bottom of my left lung, making it hard to breathe. Another doctor made a drainage hole on my left back and used a tube to drain out around 3000 ml of bloody fluid, which provided instant relief."
He tells the Reader that the experience had a profound effect on him. "I asked myself 'How the eff did I get here?' when they wheeled me in for my pre-open heart surgery. I quickly surmised that it was a combination of being born with the heart defect, dealing with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and very bad life choices, such as eating junk just about every day and smoking a pack every other day of cigarettes since I was around 16 years old. I quit in July 2025 when I just couldn't do it anymore, every cigarette just made me feel like I had tumors all over my body."
Reflecting on his recovery, Arellano posted online "I know healthcare is a thing...I would not be in a good place had I not been married to Mishey. I don't work enough hours to qualify. This bill will probably be close or past a million bucks. So far, my Kaiser co-pay was $250, $150. Please do what you gotta do to avoid being where I was at. Diet, exercise, nicotine cessation. All that stuff comes back to bite you at some point."
Arellano (Of Worlds Long Dead) and his wife Mishey Moreno (formerly of Starcrossed) have played together locally since 1995, originally known as Happy Endings, a band later rechristened the Esthas. “That [name] was our tribute to Fox 6 News anchor Estha Trouw and her awesome pixie haircut,” according to Arellano.
The Touchies (“slang for cuddling with your special someone”) were founded around 2008 with Arellano (as Stanze Touchie) on lead vocals and guitar, and Moreno as Mishey Touchie on bass and backing vocals, currently joined by Vaughn Franklin (Downs Family, Screaming YeeHaws, The Fever Vault). The debut Touchies performance was June, 2009, at the Ruby Room. The band plays original rock-n-roll songs with a punk feel, as well as covering a few of their favorite rockers like the Groovie Ghoulies, the Muffs, the Undertones, etc. They were nominated for a 2011 San Diego Music Award for Best Local recording, for their album Friends of the Friendless.
At this writing, all signs are good for a quick and full recovery. "What a rollercoaster of emotions," Mishey Touchie posted online. "Don't worry, he will rock again soon."
Arellano tells the Reader "My wife Mishey took some time off work and is helping me get back on my feet. She's been cooking all my meals, running all my errands, taking me to my follow up appointments, and most importantly, going over all my meds and making sure I take the right doses."
Regarding upcoming band plans, he's guardedly optimistic. "As I get better, albeit baby steps, I may not be out of the woods for, like, a year or more. I may pick up where we let off. We love rocking out so much, so why not if we can? Definitely can't wait to just chill and play guitar again."
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