the triple bypass wtf

my mom's 56-year-old cousin was experiencing some chest pains before christmas, and after doing a heart cath they determined that he had 100% blockage in his main artery (i hope i'm using the right words), 80% in the secondary one, and 20%, 30%, and 40% in the others. yikes. they said there was no actual damage to his heart, which was a good thing, but they decided then and there to schedule a double bypass for the day after christmas.

once they got in there, they learned that there is an artery that is sometimes hard to see unless you're actually in, but it was blocked pretty good too, so they ended up doing a triple bypass. he came through the surgery very well and is recovering nicely in the ICU.

the reason i'm blogging about this is because i got an email from him the next day--here's the relevant excerpt:

Just wanted to send my personal thanks to everyone for all your thoughts, prayers and well wishes!  I'm already sitting at a table and just finished lunch (meat, potatoes roll, fruit, vegetables and pudding), and M was kind enough to bring her laptop to my room... so here I am!  I had a liquid breakfast... but my progress is so good that they ordered this big lunch for me already... and it's still less than 24 hours since my triple bypass!

the hospital gave him meat for lunch, the day after a triple bypass. i'm speechless.

Comments

[Becci]

I'm not, if only because I continue to be disappointed in how stupid people are.

[river selkie]

and they prolly called it "lean meat" and the appropriate portion size, so it's all ok.

ugh. YUCK! so dumb.

[Mark]

Drs. Esselstyn and Ornish have literally reversed heart disease with a very low fat vegan diet (peer-reviewed research, longest study is 20 years in duration).

Last February, my father had his first heart incident while I was preparing to interview Dr. Esselstyn over his book, "Reverse and Prevent Heart Disease." Never thought my father would read the book (former test pilot), let alone, endeavor to get closer to that kind of diet (no added fat, vegan).

The book also has recipes, and I've been following the diet since then, no ill effects, lost my taste for fat (as Essy said would happen).

You can read the interview at:
http://www.madcowboy.com

Don't underestimate what the fear of dying or being cut open will do to encourage those who otherwise would never consider going veg'n. Even as a veg for 20+ years, vegan for 6 or 7, I would have bet "the farm" that my father wouldn't even go near the book, let alone buy one, read it, and adjust his diet (no perfect, but it's a start).

FYI, Mark

[girl least likely to]

mark, that's a really good point, and thanks for bringing it up. i gave dr. ornish's book to my dad a couple of years ago... maybe i'll do the same for my mom's cousin. i already have an "in" with them, actually, because they learned that "my food" is all free of cholesterol. i have been sharing dessert recipes with them over the past year or two, and once i sent them some AR literature along with the recipes. :) maybe i could send the book and it wouldn't seem that out of the ordinary.