I'm baaack!  But I think I owe you all an explanation for my sudden and mysterious disappearance for a few weeks.  So here it is.

First a little history.  As you may (or may not) know, I celebrated my 81^st birthday in June of 2021 (on the 6^th, to be exact).  Up until this incident, I seemed to be in excellent health.  All my doctors thought so too.  I did have some arthritis in my left knee for which I got a series of shots every year (since corrected by knee replacement).  I had some glaucoma in my left eye for which I took a daily eye drop.   I had a very long standing history of a rapid heart rate for which I took some medication.  I also had a long standing history of low blood pressure for which no medication was prescribed.  In my later years I developed a slight cholesterol problem for which I took some medication.  So there I was, in my 80's, taking only three prescription medications and with no record of any heart problem symptoms.

I expected Monday, the 12^th, of July to be like any other day, and it was, but that night I woke up after about an hour's sleep, with mild heartburn and slight nausea.  This went on, off and on all night, alternating between a little sleep and a bout of heartburn and nausea.  Finally the morning of the 13^th (Tuesday) arrived and I got up, dressed and went into the kitchen to have some coffee and take my morning medications.  A bit later, my daughter (Brenda, the family medical advisor) stopped by and said I looked terrible.  I told her it was probably because of my overnight battle with heartburn.  She didn't like this and checked my blood pressure (it was 82/50).  She simply said "We're going to the ER."

At the Tanner ER, they determined I had suffered a heart attack and that I had six arteries with 95% blockages.  Brenda, not being overly thrilled with the cardiac team at Tanner, insisted I be transferred to Piedmont.  So away I went in the ambulance.  This turned out to be a very fortuitous decision, as I was assigned to one of better heart surgeons in the country, one of only a few willing to operate on someone of my age with so many arteries to be repaired.

Piedmont, of course, spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday verifying Tanner's findings.  During that time the heart surgeon explained that my actual heart attack came from a total blockage of a 7^th artery, which had, in the mean time, "self repaired."  He stated that, while this is rare, it is not unheard of.

Eventually, the decision was made to bypass 3 (of the other 6) ateries, using arterial material scavenged from inside my chest and my right calf.  I came out of surgery about 5:00 pm on Friday, the 16^th.  Then, 3 days in ICU, and a couple days in recovery/rehab, where it was determined that, due to my fluctuating heart rates, the best course of action was to insert a pacemaker to control the slowing of my heart at times.  The rapid heart beat would continue to be controlled by medication, although with an increased dosage.

The pacemaker surgery was done in a couple of hours and I went back into the ICU for 3 days, then more than a week in recovery/rehab while they got all my blood chemistry back in balance.  So finally, I was able to return home on the 1^st of August (just in time to pay all my bills).  As you might imagine, during this time I had rather limited communications time or methods, and that was, in any event, about the last thing on my mind.  I then spent a couple of weeks at my daughters home (just in case) before finally being released to drive, on the 20^th of August, and returning to my own home.

So there you have it... The Tale of My Heart Attack.  Just in case you are wondering, I am now doing quite well.  Aided by the fact that the heart attack induced me to quit smoking, after nearly 70 years of the tobacco habit.  I say habit rather than addiction, since I was always a light smoker (3 to 5 cigarettes a day) and managed to stop cold turkey with no adverse reaction. although, even years later, I do still occasionally experience the craving, especially after a good meal.