drpep Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Hello fellow mooniacs1 Its been a number of months since I posted. To make a long storey short In May I had a routine medical check up and complained of mild chest pain. After an internist declared that I had some kind of chest pain but not heart pain I was quite relieved. He did recommend that I do a stress test which I passed to be followed by an angiogram given my age(67). I agreed to do so at the next available booking. I was confident that I was ok based on the classic "ability biases" generally typical of most pilots who think that only bad things happen to the other guy (ie, flying VFR intto IMC would not happen to me). As a forensic specialist my curiosity was peaked. Being a one time competitive marathoner and generally quite fit no harm could be done by further investigation. So, I proceeded to get the angiogram all the while declaring to the cardiologists performing the procedure that I felt bad about wasting their time. Well, the news in short order was that I had no less than six blocked arteries ( 2 at 100%)and immediate surgery was necessary. Before I could really contemplate what was happening I was under the knife or saw and recovered with 4 by passes. My intial recovery was stalled due to infections however I have recovered extremely well allowing me now to do cycle road trips of 40 plus km and some modest hiking. As well I continue to fly as a copilot in my Mooney with two seasoned military pilots for which I am grateful. I wil be applying at the end of October to have my medical reinstated and I am confident that getting it back will happen I had contemplated over the early summer months on selling my Mooney but now retrospectively I am happy that I did not. In summary, the operation not only saved my life it also gave me a renewed sensitivity to do everything I can to remain healthy and not take anything for granted. I am back at work now and I can honestly feel the difference as my energy level is better than it has been for a few years. Thanks for reading my storey. drpep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MATTS875 Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Proud everything worked out great for you.It was great to have it diagnosed early enough to tend to it.take care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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