START HERE: DONT KNOW WHAT AN LVAD IS? IT WAS AN ALL OUT AMBUSH!

It all started when i thought life was set and my perimeters secured.

2 Grandsons in the last 3 years...

Jaydon & Jordon.

We just completed 4 round trip cross-country drives NYC to Cali and back from October 2008-October 2009

My wife and best friend made my good life possible!

I was sitting pretty, no one could knock me off the Helm.

Then "It" came, from all directions!

T H E H E A R T A T T A C K !

NO CHEST PAIN! NO PAIN OR NUMBNESS IN THE LEFT ARM, MY HEART ATTACK WAS DISGUISED AS "FOOD POISONING".

All i had was a sour and very eruptive stomach.

For one week i sat home with my wife nursing my stomach. FINALLY I had a few doctors see me. They told me i had a MASSSIVE heart attack! They told me i needed a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) implanted and grafted to my heart ASAP... They told me i was lucky to still be alive :)

THANK YOU GOD, I AM BLESSED with the LVAD in place...

I was discharged 11 days after the LVAD was implanted and grafted (I am told one of the fastest discharges in LVAD's 14 year history at the hospital). With a longer lease on life, things began to change; including my wardrobe that showcased undercover holster-shirts!

These special shirts make my days easier as i need to carry 2 lithium batteries (and instead of guns, the batteries are tucked into the holsters) to power my heart pump... the LVAD.

The LVAD team (Margaret, Rosie, Jennifer, Khristine and Donna) and the rest of LVAD NATION at the hospital trained me and my family to live with and safely maintain the LVAD. They are angels here on earth.

I still have no complaints as i work on myself in preparation for a Heart Transplant :)

The good saga continues...