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I am glad that everything is ok with Ray. Just hoped everything will be next month when the bills are coming in from the medical care. I can imagine that does not do ones health a lot of good also. I thank Ray for posting this scary happy ending wake up call, because it is like allways a wake up call for us all. Before I read the post, I missed my jogging, because I was lazzy, I ate 4 slyces of bacon with 4 fried eggs and one deepfreeze pizza. Within 15 minutes I will go out into the dark and do my needed excersize.
Thanks again for your open hearted story, good luck with your further recovery!
-------------------- John Arnott El Cajon CA 619 596-9989 signgraphics1@aol.com http://www.signgraphics1.com Posts: 1443 | From: El Cajon CA usa | Registered: Dec 1998
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I haven't smoked since 1987 and I went through a heart attack last year. I was working out at the gym with a trainer and wondering why everything was so difficult that morning. Thankfully, one of the guys in the class was an EMT nurse and he recognized the symptoms.
I'm glad to hear you survived it, (that's the most important step) and hope you have very little heart damage (that's where the speed really helps).
Once you recover, your cardiologist should recommend cardiac rehab, which is supervised exercise. It really helps you get back to (the new) normal.
If I can help, just give me a call.
-------------------- Paul Luszcz Zebra Visuals 27 Water Street Plymouth, MA 02360 508 746-9200 paul@zebravisuals.com Posts: 483 | From: 27 Water Street, Plymouth, MA 02360 | Registered: Jul 2003
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wheew, that was a close one...I have a digital print guy here local who had a similar experience on thursday. They had to put 2 stints in his heart. Glad you pulled through Ray...keep on truckin'!
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Glad to hear you are still with us Ray. We've come along way with treatment for heart attacks in the last 20 years.
It's important that everyone learns all the facts about good heart care. Just because you don't smoke and exercize daily does not mean you are not at risk. The biggest risk factor is your family history.
When you do experience symptoms, get to the Emergency Room fast. You have an hour before the blockage starts to cause serious, irreversable heart muscle damage. You cannot fix dead heart muscle. It's gone forever.
Thanks to modern medicine, most hospitals have heart trauma centers that are able to administer the live saving "clot buster" drug that disolves the blockage. I had my first heart attack back in 1993 at 2am Christmas Day. Due to a combination of circumstances, I did not get the drug until 12 hours after the heart attack started. It cost me 1/4 of my complete heart muscle. Those days are over.
These days, it's comman to have an angiogram, followed by angioplasty within a few hours of feeling chest pain. If you make it to the hospital, you are probally going to survive.
I always like to mention that I had my 5 heart attacks during times I was angry. Angry at myself. Angry because business wasn't going well. Angry because the kids didn't have enough toys under the tree. Angry that those with Government jobs have so many benefits that the small guys like most of us cannot afford.
The only reason I ever permitted any talk of Health Insurance here in Letterville is because we have so many Friends we care about in the US. Some of you are stretching the truth.
It may be law that they have to treat those without health insurance, but what if you are having pains and just want a checkup?
I was short of breath in Mississippi a few years back and RT took me to a clinic. First thing I had to do was produce a credit card before anyone would see me. As a Canadian that felt so weird.
The care itself was excellant. I requested the cost of every test before they gave me them, and considered that cost against my desire to stay on the road. In the end, it was not another bout of heart failure. Just a lung infection. I purchased some pill for 3 times the cost they are here and was back on the road. Total cost was about $350 bucks.
We've met hundreds of you in person. This whole Medical thing never ceases to amaze me. I know that most of you don't have health insurance. Some that do are either over 65, or have a spouse with benefits. It's not fair not to tell the whole truth.
We were talking to a very well known Letterhead 2 days ago and this issue came up. The cost of health issurance for their family is $800 a Month. More than their mortgage! And there is a deductable. They have to pay the first 10 thousand. Am I the only one with their jaw hitting the floor?
I learned a longtime ago that we will never agree on everything. This only interests me as a Father and a small business guy. We may come from different cultures and Countries, but I believe we all share the same concerns about our health and the potential for disaster.
To me health care is a right. It's as least as important as a Country's defence. Nobody should ever lose their home as a result of a heart attack or accident. I don't see this as a Political discussion, more of just a human issue.
There are always those that cannot afford to pay or just plain choose not to. Someone getting something for free, while others pay really drives some people up the wall, yet every Religion I know of proclaim that we are our Brother's keeper.
Look at that! I managed to mention Religion and Politics in the same post. But seriouly? Can anyone enlighten me on why my way of thinking is so wrong?
Should we smarten up and require all Letterville users to produce a credit card before using the website? If $50 a year is a burden, how are you paying these $800 a Month Insurance payments?
Consider the last paragraph a blatant appeal for more Residents. Life as a Socialist is hard.
-------------------- Steve Shortreed 144 Hill St., E. Fergus, Ontario Canada N1M 1G9 519-787-2673
In the USA, a hospital is obligated to treat you in an emergency to the point of stabilizing your condition without regard to your ability to pay, however, you still owe the money. In some states (not Texas), hospitals have been able to force foreclosure on people’s homes because they had no means of paying. The number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the USA is medical bills.
Some have insurance from their job, but if the company is fighting for survival, it may drop the program or force the entire premium onto an employee who cannot afford the higher cost. If the company does not drop the insurance but the employee gets laid off or the company goes under, there is a program called COBRA, which allows a person to carry his old insurance for a time between jobs, however, it is of limited duration and higher price, which an unemployed person may not be able to pay. I think it is called COBRA because it bites you–at least that was our experience with it years ago. Also, if he has pre-existing conditions, he may not be able to get coverage later.
A few years ago, I needed to see a specialist about a condition brewing that had symptoms of being a serious form of cancer. As a new patient, they wanted to schedule my appointment about three months later. I told them I’d always heard that someone with my symptoms need to be examined soon, not wait for months until he is beyond hope, if it truly is cancer. They worked me in. When I arrived, they checked with my insurance company and I hadn't met my deductible. I also didn't have enough left on a charge card to pay the entire bill up front, although I’d paid the credit card company online the previous day and it hadn’t posted yet. They would not set up a payment plan. I didn't get to see the doctor that day. If I looked like I was about to keel over dead, I could have gone a block over to the emergency room and turned a few hundred dollar medical expense into a few thousand dollar one. I had to wait until the following week when they could work me in again after the credit card company posted my payment. Fortunately, my problem turned out to be relatively minor.
Great medical care is available in the USA , especially emergency treatment, but the system surely needs adjusting because many people simply do not have the resources to get aid they sorely (pun not intended, but not disavowed either) need.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Firstly, I am glad everything went well and will be truly a wake up call for you Rapid. All's well that ends well right?
Secondly, what rules to want here Steve? You come here and say everything we were admonished not to do. It's only political or religious when we express opinions? I wish a lot of canadians would tell the "truth" also but hey keep it one sided.
-------------------- Wright Signs Wyandotte, Michigan Posts: 2785 | From: Wyandotte, MI USA | Registered: Jan 1999
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I am happy that all turned out positive for you Ray. With this wake up call, you will choose many things differently, priorities will change...and we have the pleasure of you still being here. Have a 'Rapid' and complete recovery.
-------------------- Susan Banasky Source Signs Nanaimo, British Columbia sourcesigns@shaw.ca
When in need....go directly to the "Source"!
Proud Supporter of this "Knowledge Network"! Posts: 1323 | From: Nanaimo, B.C. Canada | Registered: Oct 1999
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Ray...Glad you're still with us...sounds like you had a close one...based on a previous post...like me you probably didn't have insurance...you have your life but I hope you are not strapped with a hugh finacial burden...my last hospital stay is now worked down to a few thousand...I'm "uninsurable" so the bill was all on me...I haven't had to file bankruptcy or worry about losing my house because I made arrangements with the hospital that I have been able to keep...but lately I haven't been able to make payments...I am now continually getting calls from a collection agency...not the nicest people to deal with...but screw them...you cant get blood from a turnip...I think Steve said it best...this whole healthcare thing is a MORAL ISSUE...anyway Ray hope all goes goes well for you and you give up the smokes, red meat, and trans fats...I have for the last 6 years...your arteries will fair alot better for it...best wishes for a healthy future.
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SO RAY.................WHAT THE REST OF THE STORY??? how bad was the blockage? what is the course for your recovery? and what will be the $$$$$ DAMAGES????
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Wow. Thanks for all the wells wishes, gang. It means a lot.
OP, The blockage was next to my heart...95% closure of an artery. It was corrected with a stint. As for recovery... I'm now on a daily regiment of Plavix, aspirin, beta blockers...knocking back 5 pills every morning. These will last a year at least...possibly the rest of my life depending on the level of recovery I can muster. I have some follow up appointments with both my personal physician and the cardiac staff at the hospital where I was treated in the next few weeks. What direction that will lead is yet to e determined.
As for the costs... Way too soon to know the whole costs of this. Follow ups, therapy, co-pays (yes, I have insurance), prescriptions...I won't even fathom a guess as it is impossible to do so at this time.
Will there be costs...yes. Will it break my bank..dunno yet. Will I be around for a while longer...I certainly hope so, and if costs some money to do it, so be it.
I can only say this. I live my life with a simple ideal... "As long as I'm still breathing, I'm not done yet."
My life has never been boring and I'm not about to let it get that way. This is just another chapter. Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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Wow, Ray, thank God you are ok!!!! I am sure Celeste & Gump are so happy too!!!!
Please think about what happens if & when we go, ok? I mean, nothing lasts forever, not even our panels,, stripes, the work we do. Sometimes the Lord gives us extra time to come to know Him, He is so patient & gracious to us. And then, He opens a whole new, bigger, better world to us!
Hey, I quit smoking I think 3 years ago, & the best thing I could tell you (besides praying) is to chnage your MIND. Reemmber to think, "I don't smoke anymore." And before you know it, you DON'T! I know you will be ok, you are such a go-getter!
-------------------- The Word in Signs Bobbie Rochow Jamestown, PA 16134
724-927-6471
thewordinsigns@alltel.net Posts: 3485 | From: Jamestown, PA 16134 | Registered: Oct 2002
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I'm so glad you decided to stick around for awhile Ray! We have had WAY too much death this year to lose another good guy. BTW, think about what Bobbie said; she's right you know.
"Now don't hang on. Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky. It slips away and all your money won't another minute buy." ~Kansas
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Dang, been busy over here so haven't read all the posts. Ray, glad you pulled out of that maddness, take care amigo...
-------------------- aka:Cisco the "Traveling Millennium Sign Artist" http://www.franciscovargas.com Fresno, CA 93703 559 252-0935 "to live life, is to love life, a sign of no life, is a sign of no love"...Cisco 12'98 Posts: 3576 | From: Fresno, Ca, the great USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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glad they did the stint. i hada heart cath done MAY 29th. i had some other things done and they said my heart expulsion rate was only 35%, so they did the cath to get a better look. while they was in there, the doc asked me if i had, had a heart attack in my 40's? i said i thought i did. he said YOU GO TO THE HOSPITAL? told him NO!!!! as in 1988, anyone with some heart problem, was IMMEDIATELY taken to surgery and opened up. so i delt with it the best i could. now they in there lookin round, doc tells me i had a BAD ONE THEN, totally blocked my right artery..........BUT, the heart is one of the few organs in the body that can do some REGENERATION. over time after that heart attack, THE HEART GREW NEW BLOOD VESSELS..around the blockage!!!!!! this was so interesting to them, they sent for the HEAD HEART SURGEON, so he could see this. and that i have a 60% flow rate in those vessels. my left artery has a 30-40% blockage near the heart, and i was told with loss of weight, proper exercise & drugs, it shouldnt get any worse and maybe it will clear some on its own. they said they dont do stints till its 50% or more blockage. oh and ray, if they prescribe LIPITOR, be careful, as it has a tendancy in some people to make leg muscles weak. did in me. i cant take it. and the BETA BLOCKERS, have a tendency to create BRADYCARDIA. which means your PULSE rate is below 55 beats a minute. ive had mine go as low as 36, with the drugs.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Well, Ray! Glad you're doing okay. Take care, you are part of our big letterville family, and a really nice person...but you know we need you around, now!
Glad you caught that and kudos to the medical staff; my dear friend's sis called me today from Ohio, as we lost him unexpectedly at 43 from a cardiac event 6 years ago. It's never going to be the same. You have definitely warned some of the rest of us.Thanks.
-------------------- Deb Fowler
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney (1901-1966) Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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