North Miami Councilman, and self-described longest serving LGBT elected official in America, Scott Galvin, shared his recent battle with a deadly heart condition to his constituents in an email blast Thursday.

“It is only by the grace of God and the incredible work of the surgeons and staff at Aventura Hospital that I'm alive to write you this note,” Galvin stated.

First elected to the North Miami City Council in May 1999, Galvin has served as the District 1 representative on the council ever since, winning elections in 2003, 2007 and 2011. His current term expires in May 2019, according to the North Miami Florida government website.

In mid-December, Galvin was struck by an Aortic Dissection. He shared that the tear in his aorta struck without warning, and is a hereditary condition. Forty percent of those hit by this affliction don't survive upon presentation, according to The US National Library of Health.

Galvin spent 12 hours in emergency heart surgery to repair the damage, spending another two weeks recovering in the intensive care unit. A metal plate now holds his sternum together, he shared, and he’s expected to make a full recovery.

“I share this with you because I have always been transparent with you during my term in office. This challenging moment should be no different,” Galvin wrote.

“Even from my hospital room, I continued to keep up with my duties,” the councilman went on to state, noting several people received email responses from him after they wrote about the problems they encountered.

Galvin has a history of being a strong advocate for LGBT rights. In 2013 he called the Mayor of North Miami, Andre Pierre, a “chicken” and a “coward” for not allowing a public discussion on the city’s decision to hold a day of prayer event hosted by an anti-gay pastor.

Later in 2017, Galvin spearheaded a LGBT sculpture for Miami-Dade county, which he told SFGN is “recognizing the contributions of several of Dade's gay pioneers, including Ruth Shack, Victoria Sigler, Kevin Burns, David Richardson, Martin Gill, and others,” all of whom attended the event.