Bill Klein Open Heart

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. You'll find updates on Bill's open heart surgery (scheduled for February 28, 7:15 a.m.) and his recovery here. Your prayers and comments are a spring tonic. Jokes, too. Someone just might get restless. And ever-so-slightly bored. Thanks in advance for dropping by.

Bill's Story:

Back in September, Laurie & I were hiking up near Lake Louise in Banff National Park.  I began to feel an ache in the back of my throat - the kind you feel if you've been breathing hard on a really cold day.  I didn't think much of it at the time but the ache started re-occurring whenever I exerted myself in any way.  I spoke to a doctor about it and he thought it might be Acid Reflux.  He gave me some pills to take when the ache occurred.

At home, we would regularly walk in the woods nearby and the ache would appear on the way back to our house.  As days went by, the ache began to appear earlier and spread down my sternum. However, each time I'd get home and reach for the pills, the ache would stop. 

Around this time, I heard a friend talking about a similar experience which had turned out to be a heart issue and I made a mental note to talk a doctor about that.  Shortly thereafter I left on another walk with Laurie and didn't get more than 50 yards when the ache came back accompanied by dizziness and I had to stop.  So back to the doctor I went to ask for a treadmill stress test.

To shorten the story, the stress test revealed abnormalities so I was referred to a cardiologist. After talking with me, the cardiologist thought I might have a minor blockage and should have an Angiogram - (they inject dye into your arteries and watch via X-Ray.) He said he could put in a stent at the same time and I could wake up as good as new. However, upon waking from the Angiogram, I learned that the problem was more serious and I would need bypass surgery.