I wanted to pass along an ordeal we went through last winter in the hope that it helps some other people. I'll say up front that there's a happy ending.
Our family has a history of heart trouble. My grandma had a heart attack and later died of a stroke. A few of my uncles have had (and recovered from) heart attacks. My mom has a cow valve in her heart.
My dad 70 and strong as an ox. He's never had heart trouble or been gravely ill other than 2 benign pituitary tumors and a kidney stone. He's been a farmer all his life and after we sold the dairy cows he spent 12 years tearing down buildings while still running the farm.
Last fall we started putting up a 30'x60' Quonset hut. We poured the footer and helped my cousin, a union blocklayer, build ~7' walls from 12" block grouted solid to set the building on to make it higher. My dad was integral in getting this work done.
On the day we built the first arch (30' span 21' above the finished floor at the center) we had a lot of help. You build the arch on the ground in 2 halves and stand them up, then join them in the center. The 2 halves are HEAVY. We had scaffolding built and fed the pieces by hand up the scaffold do my dad and cousin and they finally were able to make the connection. It took all day and was the most miserable job we've ever done here.
The next morning (Sunday) dad was sacking oats for a customer at 7:30 AM and he called me to say his chest didn't feel right. No pain, but mild pressure. I didn't even know he was working already. I was up but still in my PJs drinking coffee and watching the news. I took him to the best regional hospital in our area and they did an EKG immediately and didn't like the results so they called in a doctor and he did a cath. Four of the major arteries on Dad's heart were between 75% and 99% blocked. They didn't even let him stand up. He was admitted and the following day had a quadruple heart bypass that it took him all winter to recover from.
On top of working 50+hours a week I was able to keep our hay business going with some help from my wife but mostly by myself while he mended. Once he started getting some strength back he'd ride along in the truck on hay runs even though he couldn't do anything. And he didn't push himself-he allowed himself the time to recover properly.
Shortly before this all happened, our neighbor (don't know the guy well but he lived right up the road) had been feeling bad for a couple weeks and never went to the doctor. He walked up his stairs one day and fell over at age 62 of a massive heart attack. Died in his hallway. Dad thought about this guy when he decided to have me run him to the hospital.
Now, a little over a year out, Dad is fully recovered and throwing hay bales like a man half his age. He's fine. Had he not gotten checked out, he'd have probably had a massive heart attack 15 feet in the air and if that didn't kill him the fall would have.
His making a smart decision literally saved his life. He did not technically have a heart attack but he was a time bomb with a VERY short fuse.
On a side note, a small crew of family and friends (mostly retired construction workers) rallied for my dad and got the shed built. Ended up renting a rough terrain scissor lift for a month and getting lucky with the weather.
So, if there's a moral here, I guess it's this: Listen to yourself, If something doesn't seem right inside get it looked at. It might make a big difference in your life and those of your loved ones.
Our family has a history of heart trouble. My grandma had a heart attack and later died of a stroke. A few of my uncles have had (and recovered from) heart attacks. My mom has a cow valve in her heart.
My dad 70 and strong as an ox. He's never had heart trouble or been gravely ill other than 2 benign pituitary tumors and a kidney stone. He's been a farmer all his life and after we sold the dairy cows he spent 12 years tearing down buildings while still running the farm.
Last fall we started putting up a 30'x60' Quonset hut. We poured the footer and helped my cousin, a union blocklayer, build ~7' walls from 12" block grouted solid to set the building on to make it higher. My dad was integral in getting this work done.
On the day we built the first arch (30' span 21' above the finished floor at the center) we had a lot of help. You build the arch on the ground in 2 halves and stand them up, then join them in the center. The 2 halves are HEAVY. We had scaffolding built and fed the pieces by hand up the scaffold do my dad and cousin and they finally were able to make the connection. It took all day and was the most miserable job we've ever done here.
The next morning (Sunday) dad was sacking oats for a customer at 7:30 AM and he called me to say his chest didn't feel right. No pain, but mild pressure. I didn't even know he was working already. I was up but still in my PJs drinking coffee and watching the news. I took him to the best regional hospital in our area and they did an EKG immediately and didn't like the results so they called in a doctor and he did a cath. Four of the major arteries on Dad's heart were between 75% and 99% blocked. They didn't even let him stand up. He was admitted and the following day had a quadruple heart bypass that it took him all winter to recover from.
On top of working 50+hours a week I was able to keep our hay business going with some help from my wife but mostly by myself while he mended. Once he started getting some strength back he'd ride along in the truck on hay runs even though he couldn't do anything. And he didn't push himself-he allowed himself the time to recover properly.
Shortly before this all happened, our neighbor (don't know the guy well but he lived right up the road) had been feeling bad for a couple weeks and never went to the doctor. He walked up his stairs one day and fell over at age 62 of a massive heart attack. Died in his hallway. Dad thought about this guy when he decided to have me run him to the hospital.
Now, a little over a year out, Dad is fully recovered and throwing hay bales like a man half his age. He's fine. Had he not gotten checked out, he'd have probably had a massive heart attack 15 feet in the air and if that didn't kill him the fall would have.
His making a smart decision literally saved his life. He did not technically have a heart attack but he was a time bomb with a VERY short fuse.
On a side note, a small crew of family and friends (mostly retired construction workers) rallied for my dad and got the shed built. Ended up renting a rough terrain scissor lift for a month and getting lucky with the weather.
So, if there's a moral here, I guess it's this: Listen to yourself, If something doesn't seem right inside get it looked at. It might make a big difference in your life and those of your loved ones.
