Schaible Health Update

With a grateful (and resupplied) heart

A little over a week ago I, Doug, was laying on an operating table having a triple by-pass done on my heart.  My faithful wife and companion Cheryl was in the waiting room wondering what was going to come about through all of this, but. . . I dropped that bit of news on you without much pretext or warning so let me back up a little bit.

Last year I was on the road a lot and by that I mean I was away from home and as a result I did not get to do the walking I normally like to do and the exercise I normally work at.  When I did get home and started to walk I would notice that I would get a little short of breath and I would have a slight pain in the center of my chest but it would stop as soon as I stopped. I thought I must be really out of shape from all the driving and non-activity.

I decided to join a fitness club and start working out to get back in shape but the more I worked out the more the problem persisted and so one evening at our small group meeting I brought it up for prayer and some of the friends suggested I go to the cardiologist right away.  The next morning we went to our family doctor.

After five minutes of the stress test the doctor suggested I go to the cardiologist the next day. The cardiologist looked over the results and said we should get a heart-cath done right away and the results of that were that I had about 96% blockage in one of my veins and over 70% in a couple of others and he would not let me leave the office. He wanted me in surgery the next morning and the rest is history.

The Results

The results were good. I had no muscle damage, no heart attack.  I just used up three veins supplying my heart as much as could humanly be used without causing damage.  They took some veins out of my leg and one out of my chest.  There were no stents put in.  I am now on the road to recovery and I’m trying to get my strength back from laying in bed all week.

Thanks for my wife

Cheryl has been a real trooper through all of this and I just want to thank her for her patience and care while I was laying there.  You ought to see how good a job she does replacing bandages.  Please be praying for her.

Thank you all

Cheryl and I want to thank you all for your kindness and prayers and support. We had so many people come by and visit us at the hospital, send us cards, call us and let us know they were praying for us on Facebook.  We look forward to seeing you in the next few week.  Thank you for everything.