Seven years ago the world was changed forever by an unthinkable act of cowardice that shook us to our very core.  That day affected me like many others but had a personal twist to it that makes this anniversary bittersweet for me.  I republish my chronicle of open-heart surgery every year at this time at the request of very many folks who find it helpful.  If you have no interest in non-tech stuff then skip this.  For those who wish to experience life-changing emergency open-heart surgery from the patient’s perspective then read on.

"Mr. Kendrick, can you hear me? I’m Mrs. Reinhard, the patient carefacilitator here at Methodist hospital. Are you comfortable? I’ll bemaking sure your wife and family are OK while you’re in surgery asyou’ll be there for a while. Do you want to tell me anything beforethey take you back?"

I have to think about that one. I’m so cold, it’s so cold in here.How should I respond that won’t conflict with my Southern upbringing.You must be stoic when confronted with the most terrifying thing inyour entire life. Scared beyond words that you will never wake up.Scared that they won’t be able to fix your problem. Scared that you’llnever, ever see your beautiful wife and wonderful children again.Terrified that you’ll be an invalid after the surgery.

"Thank you but I’m fine."

"You understand the procedure you’re about to undergo, right Mr.Kendrick? Would you like to talk about it or ask me any questions?"

"No, I’m fine. Tell my wife that I love her and I’ll see her shortly. She doesn’t handle upsetting things very well."

"Well, OK, Mr. Kendrick. Don’t you worry- Dr. Lawrie is one of thebest surgeons in the world and you’ll be just fine. I’ll sit with yourwife for a while and make sure she knows what’s going on with yourprocedure. They’ll be coming to take you into surgery in a few minutes.I’ll see you in the recovery room." (What I didn’t know then is that Dr. Lawrie worked for 20 years on the personal surgical team of Dr. DeBakey, the pioneer of cardiac surgery. Sometimes you just get lucky.)

As she walked away I hoped that Sheri would be OK. A single teartrickled involuntarily down my cheek. I suppose it was still there whenthe doctors and nurses started their work.

Continue reading from the heart

Long-time readers of jkOnTheRun probably get tired of seeing posts like this one today marking my sixth anniversary of open-heart surgery.  It seems like yesterday that I went through that life-changing ordeal and like I do every year I am linking to my personal chronicle of it.  If you haven’t read "from the heart" you might find it interesting, if not just skip over it and there will be more mobile tech news to come.  Here’s a brief excerpt of "from the heart".

"Mr. Kendrick, can you hear me? I’m Mrs. Reinhard, the patient carefacilitator here at Methodist hospital. Are you comfortable? I’ll bemaking sure your wife and family are OK while you’re in surgery asyou’ll be there for a while. Do you want to tell me anything beforethey take you back?"

I have to think about that one. I’m so cold, it’s so cold in here.How should I respond that won’t conflict with my Southern upbringing.You must be stoic when confronted with the most terrifying thing inyour entire life. Scared beyond words that you will never wake up.Scared that they won’t be able to fix your problem. Scared that you’llnever, ever see your beautiful wife and wonderful children again.Terrified that you’ll be an invalid after the surgery.

"Thank you but I’m fine."

"You understand the procedure you’re about to undergo, right Mr.Kendrick? Would you like to talk about it or ask me any questions?"

"No, I’m fine. Tell my wife that I love her and I’ll see her shortly. She doesn’t handle upsetting things very well."

"Well, OK, Mr. Kendrick. Don’t you worry- Dr. Lawrie is one of thebest surgeons in the world and you’ll be just fine. I’ll sit with yourwife for a while and make sure she knows what’s going on with yourprocedure. They’ll be coming to take you into surgery in a few minutes.I’ll see you in the recovery room." (What I didn’t know then is that Dr. Lawrie worked for 20 years on the personal surgical team of Dr. DeBakey, the pioneer of cardiac surgery. Sometimes you just get lucky.)

As she walked away I hoped that Sheri would be OK. A single teartrickled involuntarily down my cheek. I suppose it was still there whenthe doctors and nurses started their work.

Continue reading from the heart.

Most people have a defining moment in their lives that often takes the form of a major event that has a profound affect on them and mine happened exactly five years ago today.  Each year on the anniversary date I rerun the chronicle I wrote that attempts to describe exactly what happened from my perspective.  I can honestly state that having lived through this traumatic event caused me to focus my attentions on things that I really enjoy doing and this blog and my other writings about mobile technology are the result.  Since I first published this chronicle in 2004 I have heard from hundreds of readers and the outpouring has been nothing short of phenomenal.  I still receive email every week from those who have experienced the same thing or those who are about to.  Here is the beginning of the chronicle From the Heart:

From the Heart

part 1

I had a condition that cardiologists refer to as the "widowmaker" because usually the first symptom you experience is a fatal, massive coronary. You drop dead. Game over with no warning. Well, you could say the warning signs are there even if subtle but there are no genuine symptoms. I was very fortunate to have one symptom that served as a warning and allowed me the opportunity to get fixed. Not fixed like a dog, but repaired as in faulty equipment.

"Mr. Kendrick, can you hear me? I’m Mrs. Reinhard, the patient care facilitator here at Methodist hospital. Are you comfortable? I’ll be making sure your wife and family are OK while you’re in surgery as you’ll be there for a while. Do you want to tell me anything before they take you back?"

I have to think about that one. I’m so cold, it’s so cold in here. How should I respond that won’t conflict with my Southern upbringing. You must be stoic when confronted with the most terrifying thing in your entire life. Scared beyond words that you will never wake up. Scared that they won’t be able to fix your problem. Scared that you’ll never, ever see your beautiful wife and wonderful children again. Terrified that you’ll be an invalid after the surgery.

"Thank you but I’m fine."

"You understand the procedure you’re about to undergo, right Mr. Kendrick? Would you like to talk about it or ask me any questions?"

"No, I’m fine. Tell my wife that I love her and I’ll see her shortly. She doesn’t handle upsetting things very well."

"Well, OK, Mr. Kendrick. Don’t you worry- Dr. Lawrie is one of the best surgeons in the world and you’ll be just fine. I’ll sit with your wife for a while and make sure she knows what’s going on with your procedure. They’ll be coming to take you into surgery in a few minutes. I’ll see you in the recovery room." (What I didn’t know then is that Dr. Lawrie worked for 20 years on the personal surgical team of Dr. DeBakey, the pioneer of cardiac surgery. Sometimes you just get lucky.)

As she walked away I hoped that Sheri would be OK. A single tear trickled involuntarily down my cheek. I suppose it was still there when the doctors and nurses started their work.

Continue reading From the Heart

Today is September 6th, a day that doesn’t mean that much to most people but one I celebrate every year as it is important to me.  Today is the fourth anniversary of my emergency open heart surgery that saved me even though at the time I didn’t know I was in trouble until it was almost too late.  Every year on this day I reflect on all that has happened to me and my family since that fateful day, if only to assure myself I am taking advantage of the additional time with which I have been gifted.  I am sure that Bill Clinton is reflecting in a similar way as by happenstance today is the first anniversary of his bypass surgery.  If you are interested in my review of the past four years then continue on after the jump, otherwise enjoy the rest of your day.

Continue reading »

One of the reasons I started this blog besides having a platform to talk about tech stuff and other things that interest, amuse, and infuriate me, was to use this opportunity to pass on things I’ve learned throughout my life. A blog is a good forum for that as it’s not a captive media- if something doesn’t interest you then you simply pass it over. But it’s a therapeutic way for me to recount some major events that will make me feel better having told them and might help others at the same time.

Almost three years ago I underwent a life-shaking period that many experience and none are ever prepared for. I had open heart surgery at the way too young age of 45, an event that I certainly was not expecting nor ready to endure. I’d like to chronicle this experience a little at a time and will post it in installments so as not to overwhelm you the reader nor me the storyteller.

Pull up a chair and read on if you wish. Maybe you’ll find something that will benefit you- if not that’s OK. I’m writing it for me.

Continue reading »