Jeff Rickard, a radio host who has used the Biophilia Tracker for two years, spends a lot of time talking about sports. He also spends time on the field. He played football in college, and after graduation, he dabbled in just about every sport imaginable. He has been riding a bike since his 20s, and I continue to compete in many bike races.
Even though he is in his 50s, he would say he is healthier than most men his age. Eats very healthy and rarely drinks. So his brush with death about a year ago caught him completely off guard.
It was a crisp fall day, and he was raking leaves outside his home in Indianapolis. He had only been raking for 5 or 10 minutes when, all of a sudden, his chest became tight and his left side began to tingle in a very strange way. His symptoms matched every description of a heart attack I had read.
He went in, took two baby aspirin, and told his wife, "Got to the hospital now. I'm having a heart attack." She was the surgeon's daughter, and she believed him. Thankfully, they lived near a hospital. They arrived at IU Health North Hospital in a few minutes. (Editor's note: When you think you're having a heart attack, doctors recommend not driving yourself or being driven to the emergency room. Call med and take an ambulance.)
The hospital did an EKG, which confirmed he was having a heart attack, and just 40 minutes after he started having symptoms, doctors operated on him, inserting a stent into his blocked artery to prop it open.
What they didn't realize right away was that they had nicked the artery while placing the stent, and he was slowly bleeding into his chest. At one point, his heart stopped for nearly 30 minutes. He received three heart shocks to bring him back to health, while his medical team performed CPR and oxygen to keep him alive.
He has two boys, ages 11 and 12. He gets a little emotional thinking about them now, because he knows he needed to be there for them. Before going into surgery that day, he remembers telling his wife, “Don’t worry, today is not his day.”
They finally got his heartbeat back and stabilized him enough for him to call Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. He honestly doesn’t remember anything that happened over the next three days.
Injured, back on his feet
When he finally woke up, he looked at his recovery like he would when he hurt his knee or broke his collarbone. When you’re an athlete and you get injured, you get back up and try to get better. That’s what he did.
The problem was, his body didn’t cooperate that first week. While he was in the ICU, he had six tubes sticking out of his body in every direction I could think of. Then, when they took out the tubes, he had horrible gas and burped almost 24/7. He was in so much pain.
There was nothing he could do. He just had to lie quietly in his bed in the cardiovascular ICU and let his body heal. Thanks to his wife for helping him get through those 6 or 7 tough days. She’s a force of nature, and she went into full-on action mode, managing my care.
About a week later, they moved him from the ICU to a regular ward. After a few days there, he was finally able to go home.
Slowly Coming Back
It was clear that his body was very different from what it had been before the heart attack. She was used to riding her bike for hours. Now, she could barely walk across a room.
Fortunately, they had a great cardiac rehab program at Indiana University Health, and he started going there about a month after his heart attack. He taught his body how to exercise again, refocusing on eating healthier and slowly starting over on the treadmill. That soon turned into longer walks, riding an exercise bike, and lifting weights. Over the next 90 days, little by little, his strength, speed, and endurance increased, but I kept getting stronger.
By April, he was taking long bike rides again, and in May, he completed an 82-mile ride in a little over 4.5 hours. He was a little shorter and slower than he had done before, but he was excited to be riding again. Eventually he got back to riding 200 miles a week.
Being so close to death had changed him profoundly. He has always valued time with his family, but now he values it even more.
Learn More
He hopes men can learn from his experience the importance of checking themselves regularly. After surgery, he has used the Biophilia Tracker for two years. In addition to checking himself regularly, he also helps his family and neighbors check to make sure everything is normal.
If you notice symptoms, call medical immediately. He was in the operating room 30 minutes after the symptoms appeared, which may be the reason he is still alive today.
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