In October 2025 I started feeling “out-of-it”. The morning of the 20th I woke up at 3:00am with chills, nausea and dry-heaving. This carried on for three days, so Thursday morning I decided to head over to Urgent Care. When I got there, I explained what I was feeling like (death warmed up!) and the doctor had the tech run an ECG. The doctor asked me “how did you get here today?”, I told him I drove, and he said, “well we’re calling an ambulance and getting you over to the ER. You’re on the brink of a heart attack, and it’s better for you to be where they can get you taken care of…”
For a few months I have had zero energy, and doing almost anything was a monumental chore, followed by extreme physical tiredness. My diet was less than healthy, being a full fledged “steak & potato” guy with copious amounts of caffeine and sodas (daily) I was spiraling out of control, and little did I know what harm I was causing myself, let alone my family.
In the ER, they sent me for a CT scan, ran all blood work, and monitored me for a few hours while they waited on results. The CT scan revealed a 90% blockage of the circumflex artery – that’s the artery that branches off the infamous “widow-maker”. Along with the blockage, the calcium score that came back was off the charts, with a reading of 940mg – the typical reading is around 100mg. A calcium score over 400mg points to extensive arterial plaque, very high risk of heart attack, and confirmed diagnosis of Atherosclerosis (build up of fats and cholesterol in and on the artery walls of the heart).
I had noticed that for about 5-6 months, my feet would ache for no rhyme or reason. My right thumb would tingle constantly and my left thigh would often go numb. My sleep was erratic and interrupted, hardly ever sleeping through the night. Often being prodded by Nancy to “breathe”.
As soon as the CT scan revealed the blockage, I was admitted, with heart monitor, and hourly blood draws. The cardiologist came by and said “I’ve got good news and bad news, the good news is we’re getting you to the Cath-Lab to put in a couple stents, the bad news is we have to keep you over night and you’ll only go home tomorrow”.
The procedure took 45 minutes, 2 stents, and only mild sedation. I didn’t feel the catheter at all, the worst pain was actually in my wrist where they went in via the radial artery, and I was able to watch the procedure on screen! Fascinating! Back in the day this would be open heart surgery, now they access an artery in your wrist and go all the way into the heart and perform stent placements! I spent the night in recovery and observation, and was mostly awake pondering the events of the week and preceding months. I had just received my own personal wake-up call.
Without a doubt, I had to make some real defining changes regarding my health, or lack thereof! Now 90 days out from the events that shook me to the core on October 23rd, 2025 I can honestly say I am doing great, feeling great, eating well and sleeping well. Here’s a summary of the changes I have made that have had positive impact not only on my life but those around me:
- 5 cups of coffee per day, down to one cup a week
- 5 sodas per day, down to water, club soda, green tea and kombucha
- Rare meat off the grill/smoker every other day, down to eating healthy grains, salmon, skinless chicken, turkey and loads of nuts, greens, salads and fruits
- couch potato radical change to brisk cardio workouts and 4 miles (10,000 steps) every day come rain, snow, sunshine, either outside or on the elliptical
- My average active daily calory burn in 2025 was 68, over the past 90 days the active daily calory burn is averaging 700 and resting calories averaging 2,300 while in 2025 that number was pegged at 1,450
- Weight prior October 2025 averaged 260lbs, over the past 90 days I have dropped off 42lbs and have another 18lbs to go to be at my optimal weight
What is the biggest takeaway from me sharing this life event? Take care of your body in all aspects of life. Balance your spiritual, physical, mental and nutritional intake well. Visit your primary health care and have the necessary tests to rule out any silent killers. We only get one shot at this, so do something good for yourself while you can. Was I afraid of what was happening to me? Yes. But I also knew that having faith in the Lord and trusting in Him to lead and guide me through this journey that I would be in a good place, to share my story, to help shine a light on anyone that reads this account, and tell you that if I can go through this experience with poor health, heart attack and surgery and turn it around with a daily desire and drive to be better then, YOU can too!