Please keep MLBob Furia in your thoughts and prayers
- Thread starter Bob M
- Start date
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, Bob and Bob~
Yes, indeed! I hope the patient gets back to the shop soon. We all look forward to his contributions to the Work Bench.
All the best,
SJS
Yes, indeed! I hope the patient gets back to the shop soon. We all look forward to his contributions to the Work Bench.
All the best,
SJS
Yes,
I hear all he is doing now is sitting around and spoiling his dog. [
] Hoping it stays that way, till the Docs tell him he can do more.
I hear all he is doing now is sitting around and spoiling his dog. [
] Hoping it stays that way, till the Docs tell him he can do more.
Vince Pagliaroli
Well-known member
The thoughts and prayers for Bob's recovery keep on flying...
Best regards
Vince
MLBob Furia
Well-known member
All :
Guess I'd better weigh in about the craziness of the past week.
On Friday March 6, I became part of the "Chest Zipper and Red Pillow Club" after undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery and the insertion of something called an atri-clip (something to do with clot & stroke prevention after bypass surgery - was told the clip wasn't neccesary... but hey, while you're in there, do any upgrade you want. [] )
I think it's a safe assumption to make that the folks who frequent DHBP, on the whole are physically active and constantly on the go chasing a wide variety of interests. No doubt we all tend to think of ourselves as ten-foot-tall-and bulletproof. As many of us have gotten older (I'm 70), we have (sometimes grudgingly) had to make concessions to how hard we go at things compared to how we operated in the past.
Well, this is as good an opportunity as any to put in the word to all of us to listen to our bodies, and not dismiss it when things are not quite right:
- Back in late November of this year, I started experiencing occasional chest tightness and what I considered premature shortness of breath. Certainly nothing that was ever "stop me in my tracks" severe .... just a different feeling for me. At the time I was regularly walking two or three miles at least 3x a week and jogging six or eight flights of stadium steps at the local high school to finish up . I brought my symptoms up with my GP during a scheduled health check, and he ran blood work which came back normal.
Symptoms continued on & off all through this past waterfowl season. Sometimes when I'd be hopping in and out of the TDB while preparing to launch at the ramp --- all of a sudden, out of breath. Sometimes walking on the treadmill in the basement at home ---- feeling of tightness. Again, nothing that was stopping me in my tracks or causing severe pain..... just different.
A few weeks ago, I was back to my GP for a regularly scheduled physical. Man, ALL my numbers were perfect.... lipid profile of a teenager! 170 total cholesterol count + all the other lipid indicators right in the groove. Blood-work totally normal. But I brought up the fact that the occasional tightness and shortness of breath I'd told him about last time had continued to occur. Given my family history with heart disease (lost my Dad when he was 42 to a coronary; Mom lived to 92 but had heart bypass surgery at 80) I asked him if he thought my doing one of these $69 vascular screenings that so many hospitals seem to be offering, might be a good idea. His opinion was that, while the screenings were a good tool, they were more a means of determining if a more specific test was needed. He felt that a stress test was called for, and with that, he ordered up a stress test with sonogram for me. I had the stress test done on Thursday, 2/27... took quite a while to get me up to the target heartbeat ( a good thing - right?!), but as I sat there after the test, all of a sudden 3 doctors in white lab coats came in and clustered around the sonogram screen. Now, I'm thinking: " This isn't a good sign" [shocked] [shocked]
One of them sits down and asks me to tell him what it is that brought me to the test. I tell him what I've related above and the first thing he says is : "Stop duck hunting !" My immediate reply was, "Yea, THAT'S not gonna happen - but anyway the season's over for this year." He told me that was good, and that he was scheduling me for an angiogram the following Tuesday 3/3. Told me to stay off my treadmill 'til then as well. He said my heart looked strong and damage free, but was not reacting quite the way it should under a stress load and he needed to see more. The angiogram would tell him if: 1- there was blockage somewhere that was not severe = go home. 2- There was blockage that called for the insertion of a stent(s) = insertion of stent(s) right then and there + ovenight hospital stay. 3- Multiple bypass surgery. .....Pretty daunting summary. [shocked]
On Tuesday I showed up for the angiogram, hoping that stent (s) would be my "worst case" scenario. At the conclusion of the test, my cardiologist told me he had good news and bad news. The heart itself was in great shape; but that in itself was remarkable given the severity of the blockages all around it, blockages that were not going to be able to be remedied with stents. He was admitting me immediately for multiple bypass surgery. I sat in the hospital 'til Friday morning when the surgery was performed. Had the massive good fortune of having the Chief of Thoracic & Cardio Dept be the one who did the procedure. This guy is the best in the area , and after my initial meetings with him pre-surgery, I was totally at ease with being in his hands.
Quad bypass on Friday, then off to the ICU with the best ICU nurses on the planet! They had me up walking around the ICU the next day (2x), and pushed me to get up and move and do the breathing exercises important to getting stronger - and more and more walking as each day passed. Most severe pain came from the drainage tubes still in my chest, but when they came out it was a whole new ball game. Amazingly, four days after my procedure (Tuesday afternoon 3/10), I was discharged and back home by 6 p.m.
Going to be 4-6 weeks of being careful not to do any weight bearing, push/pull/lift with my arms while the sternum heals + no driving for a while, but I do have a backlog of birds that I should/might be able to paint. Other than that, my surgeon is encouraging me to get off my butt and move + do things within the bounds of common sense.
Being able to check into DHBP and PM with a bunch of the guys was a great help during the craziness, and I thank you all for that!
Best,
Bob
View attachment IMAG1229 (3).jpg View attachment IMG_20200311_124128023 (2).jpg
Guess I'd better weigh in about the craziness of the past week.
On Friday March 6, I became part of the "Chest Zipper and Red Pillow Club" after undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery and the insertion of something called an atri-clip (something to do with clot & stroke prevention after bypass surgery - was told the clip wasn't neccesary... but hey, while you're in there, do any upgrade you want. [
] ) I think it's a safe assumption to make that the folks who frequent DHBP, on the whole are physically active and constantly on the go chasing a wide variety of interests. No doubt we all tend to think of ourselves as ten-foot-tall-and bulletproof. As many of us have gotten older (I'm 70), we have (sometimes grudgingly) had to make concessions to how hard we go at things compared to how we operated in the past.
Well, this is as good an opportunity as any to put in the word to all of us to listen to our bodies, and not dismiss it when things are not quite right:
- Back in late November of this year, I started experiencing occasional chest tightness and what I considered premature shortness of breath. Certainly nothing that was ever "stop me in my tracks" severe .... just a different feeling for me. At the time I was regularly walking two or three miles at least 3x a week and jogging six or eight flights of stadium steps at the local high school to finish up . I brought my symptoms up with my GP during a scheduled health check, and he ran blood work which came back normal.
Symptoms continued on & off all through this past waterfowl season. Sometimes when I'd be hopping in and out of the TDB while preparing to launch at the ramp --- all of a sudden, out of breath. Sometimes walking on the treadmill in the basement at home ---- feeling of tightness. Again, nothing that was stopping me in my tracks or causing severe pain..... just different.
A few weeks ago, I was back to my GP for a regularly scheduled physical. Man, ALL my numbers were perfect.... lipid profile of a teenager! 170 total cholesterol count + all the other lipid indicators right in the groove. Blood-work totally normal. But I brought up the fact that the occasional tightness and shortness of breath I'd told him about last time had continued to occur. Given my family history with heart disease (lost my Dad when he was 42 to a coronary; Mom lived to 92 but had heart bypass surgery at 80) I asked him if he thought my doing one of these $69 vascular screenings that so many hospitals seem to be offering, might be a good idea. His opinion was that, while the screenings were a good tool, they were more a means of determining if a more specific test was needed. He felt that a stress test was called for, and with that, he ordered up a stress test with sonogram for me. I had the stress test done on Thursday, 2/27... took quite a while to get me up to the target heartbeat ( a good thing - right?!), but as I sat there after the test, all of a sudden 3 doctors in white lab coats came in and clustered around the sonogram screen. Now, I'm thinking: " This isn't a good sign" [shocked] [shocked]
One of them sits down and asks me to tell him what it is that brought me to the test. I tell him what I've related above and the first thing he says is : "Stop duck hunting !" My immediate reply was, "Yea, THAT'S not gonna happen - but anyway the season's over for this year." He told me that was good, and that he was scheduling me for an angiogram the following Tuesday 3/3. Told me to stay off my treadmill 'til then as well. He said my heart looked strong and damage free, but was not reacting quite the way it should under a stress load and he needed to see more. The angiogram would tell him if: 1- there was blockage somewhere that was not severe = go home. 2- There was blockage that called for the insertion of a stent(s) = insertion of stent(s) right then and there + ovenight hospital stay. 3- Multiple bypass surgery. .....Pretty daunting summary. [shocked]
On Tuesday I showed up for the angiogram, hoping that stent (s) would be my "worst case" scenario. At the conclusion of the test, my cardiologist told me he had good news and bad news. The heart itself was in great shape; but that in itself was remarkable given the severity of the blockages all around it, blockages that were not going to be able to be remedied with stents. He was admitting me immediately for multiple bypass surgery. I sat in the hospital 'til Friday morning when the surgery was performed. Had the massive good fortune of having the Chief of Thoracic & Cardio Dept be the one who did the procedure. This guy is the best in the area , and after my initial meetings with him pre-surgery, I was totally at ease with being in his hands.
Quad bypass on Friday, then off to the ICU with the best ICU nurses on the planet! They had me up walking around the ICU the next day (2x), and pushed me to get up and move and do the breathing exercises important to getting stronger - and more and more walking as each day passed. Most severe pain came from the drainage tubes still in my chest, but when they came out it was a whole new ball game. Amazingly, four days after my procedure (Tuesday afternoon 3/10), I was discharged and back home by 6 p.m.
Going to be 4-6 weeks of being careful not to do any weight bearing, push/pull/lift with my arms while the sternum heals + no driving for a while, but I do have a backlog of birds that I should/might be able to paint. Other than that, my surgeon is encouraging me to get off my butt and move + do things within the bounds of common sense.
Being able to check into DHBP and PM with a bunch of the guys was a great help during the craziness, and I thank you all for that!
Best,
Bob
View attachment IMAG1229 (3).jpg View attachment IMG_20200311_124128023 (2).jpg
Last edited:
Joel Huener
Member
Good to see you on the mend, Bob - an answer to prayer. I appreciated the description of the symptoms leading up to your procedure - a reminder not only to listen to your body, but also what to listen for. I hope the recovery continues seamlessly.
Joel
Joel
Good to see that you are all fixed up and healing!!!! If you need something to paint to keep busy, I?m sure as a group we can scrounge up some flambeaus or even carrylites for you to paint. I have some flambeau mallards that you can paint over as oldsquaw.
Bob
You are the textbook example of someone who looks fit as can be but has some underlying issues. I never would have look at you and thought "Heart attack waiting to happen." Thank god you took note of your body's warning signs and got to the doctor. I hope others read your story and do the same.
Thank you for the report and even moreso glad you are doing well. We need you here so keep taking care of yourself.
Eric
You are the textbook example of someone who looks fit as can be but has some underlying issues. I never would have look at you and thought "Heart attack waiting to happen." Thank god you took note of your body's warning signs and got to the doctor. I hope others read your story and do the same.
Thank you for the report and even moreso glad you are doing well. We need you here so keep taking care of yourself.
Eric
Carl said:
This is something I need to work on myself. I keep making the excuse that many others my age or younger are more out of shape than I am. That is a fools excuse and has little bearing on MY health.
thomas wilkins
Active member
Glad you are on the mend Bob.
Good thing you listened to your body.
Tom
Good thing you listened to your body.
Tom
Vince Pagliaroli
Well-known member
Carl said:
Carl,
If heart disease runs in your family.
Doing your best may not be enough, and you dodge the bullet for only so long.
VP
Larry Eckart
Well-known member
Prayer for Bob Furia,
"Dear Lord,
We thank you for directing Bob to the proper medical staff and for their great care in addressing his physical needs. Protect him from infection or other trouble as he recovers. We thank You for his great artistic gifts in all things waterfowl. We thank You for giving us life that we might cherish until that day You call us home eternally. In Jesus' name. Amen"
Bob: I've got Furia Ringneck upstairs sending you love and best wishes for a speedy recover!
Blessings,
Larry
"Dear Lord,
We thank you for directing Bob to the proper medical staff and for their great care in addressing his physical needs. Protect him from infection or other trouble as he recovers. We thank You for his great artistic gifts in all things waterfowl. We thank You for giving us life that we might cherish until that day You call us home eternally. In Jesus' name. Amen"
Bob: I've got Furia Ringneck upstairs sending you love and best wishes for a speedy recover!
Blessings,
Larry
Phil Nowack
Well-known member
Mend quick! Duck Season is just around the corner!
Good for another 25....right?
Good for another 25....right?
James Woods
Active member
Bob: Get well soon, and thanks so much for the cautionary tale.
zane Every
Well-known member
Good to hear you are doing well.