Quintuple Bypass March 15,  2017  4:01pm EST

I have always been physically active and concientious about my health. I am a runner and have been for 30 years. So when I started to develop mild, occasional chest pains during my early morning runs, I dismissed them. Besides, they only occurred once in a while. Then one morning I experienced a pain that literally felt like I was stabbed in the chest. Stopped me in my tracks and scared the living day lights out of me. Still, I didn't see a doctor until the next day. EKG led to a nuclear stress test. The first thing I was told after the stress test was that I Aced it and not too many people can do that. As I was thinking my heart is fine, I was being told I have a blockage and will probably need a stent and that I should do it this week. I struggled with this as I sensed it might be worse. My fears were realized when, during the catherization, I was told three out of four of the major arteries going to my heart are severely blocked and we need to consult a surgeon. Talk about being brought down to earth. A week later, I had the bypass surgery. I was told depression is common with these things but I ignored that and became anxious to get back into physical shape. I started rehab a month later and was running again within a few weeks. I do get nervous about things from time to time but I believe that comes with the territory.