Jess Miller can’t remember a time during his longtime career in education that he ever took a sick day. The Burt Lake resident “never believed in being sick,” and instead focused his energies and hobbies on cross-country and downhill skiing, mountain biking and kayaking every summer evening for up to an hour at sunset. If it’s an outdoor activity, Miller was surely taking part.
“My parents are alive and well and in their 80s,” said Miller, 56, and a retired Pellston High School guidance counselor. “I’ve been extremely healthy.”
But something just wasn’t right on a mid-December day. And if Miller hadn’t trusted his instincts and known the warning signs, he might not be able to tell his story, as he does below:
On Dec. 15, 2008, I was enjoying my first day off since late August, as I had just completed my 16-week contract with the admissions department of Lake Superior State University. I was looking forward to an unstructured day of relaxation and possibly skiing. I was awakened by my wife, Pam, who announced that there was a tree blocking the road, and that she was unable to drive around it get to work. I got up and assessed the situation. I decided to use a buck-saw, rather than trying to start my chain saw. I quickly cut the tree and removed it from the road. Pam took off for work, and I went inside to have breakfast and enjoy my day off.
As I sat down to eat breakfast, I realized that I did not feel good. There was a slight bit of pressure in my chest and I felt a faint bit of tingling down both arms, but more noticeably in my left arm. At first I did not think much of this, but when I put the three events together: the exertion from cutting the tree, the pressure in my chest, and the tingling in my arms, I suddenly realized that these were warning signs. Yet I thought to myself, this cannot by happening to me. I am only 56 years old; I am physically very fit; I have low cholesterol and a very healthy diet; I don’t smoke; my parents are both alive and well in their mid 80s; I just had a physical, and I was told that I was in great health. Regardless of my denial, the warning signs were still there. I decided to grab a phone, just in case, and I waited for the warning signs to go away, hoping it was just my imagination.
When the warning signs did not go away, I thought to myself, I could die of a heart attack if I do not call 9-1-1. Then I thought, if I don’t die of a heart attack, Pam will kill me for not calling. Either way I lose. As I continued to debate what to do, my breathing started to become irregular, and I started to feel clammy. I knew I had to call 9-1-1. I told the dispatcher, “I shouldn’t be having a heart attack, but...”
Miller said he knew the warning signs of heart attack, but never imagined it would happen to him. “Whenever I told any of my friends what happened, it was almost exactly the same response: ‘You are the last person we could’ve imagined this would’ve happened to.’
“I was very, very shocked that it was happening to me.”
“The Cheboygan Life Support ambulance arrived at our rather remote Burt Lake home in less than 10 minutes. The emergency response team immediately loaded me onto a gurney and wheeled me out of my home. I found myself in the back of an ambulance, chewing on aspirin. They immediately hooked my up to a nitro IV drip, administered an EKG, and put me on oxygen.
“When we arrived at the ER at Northern Michigan Regional Hospital in Petoskey, I repeated my history to numerous doctors, PAs, and nurses. The 9-1-1 dispatcher had contacted Pam, and she joined me at the hospital about a half hour after I arrived. They kept me hooked up to nitro and oxygen. Eventually, I met with a cardiologist, who explained that I had only had one abnormal EKG back in the ambulance. After that, all the EKGs had been normal. No enzymes had been released to indicate that a heart attack had taken place.
“After hearing my history, the cardiologist (Dr. Louis Cannon) was convinced that it was probably a false alarm. However, just to be on the safe side, he recommended doing a heart cath. He said this would provide “peace of mind,” so that we would know for sure that there were no blockages in my arteries. He said that in the worst case scenario, we might find a small blockage requiring a stent, but that this would just be an overnight procedure. They scheduled the heart cath for 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 15. They admitted me to the hospital for what they said would be ‘an overnight stay.’
“During the heart cath, I remained conscious; about a half hour into the procedure, the cardiologist asked me to look at the monitor, which showed my arteries that had been injected with dye. He said, “You see this area just below your heart, where there is no dye?” I said, “Why is that?” He said, “Your left-main artery is over 99 percent blocked.”
He went on to say, “We call this the widow-maker.”
I asked why. He explained that if this artery were completely blocked, I would have had a massive fatal heart attack. He said I was very lucky that I got help when I did and that without the nitro, which enlarged my arteries and temporarily prevented the blockage, I probably would have had less than 30 minutes. He said I would not have survived if I had attempted to drive myself to the hospital or if I had waited much longer to call 9-1-1.”
Miller said he was shocked by the view on the monitor and the knowledge that he could’ve died. “My other arteries were all relatively clean of plaque, except the left main. All of the plaque build-up happened in the most dangerous spot it could,” Miller said. “It was at 99 percent. Had it gone to 100 …”
“As I was just beginning to digest this shocking information, I was informed that there would be an immediate consultation with the heart surgeon. Within 30 minutes, I was told that I required emergency open-heart double bypass surgery, which would be scheduled for first thing the following morning. I could not believe what was happening. One minute I was a healthy, athletic, care-free young man, about ready to enjoy some well-deserved time off. The next minute, I was getting ready to have my chest ripped open to save my life from what would have been a fatal heart attack. The whole situation seemed totally surreal. How could this be happening to me?
“Pam spent that entire first night sleeping in a chair next to me in the hospital. First thing the next morning, Tuesday, Dec. 16, they wheeled me down to the OR for surgery. The operation (by Dr. Richard Downey) took over four hours and I spent the next 30 hours in ICU. My memory did not return until late Wednesday afternoon as they were returning me to my regular hospital room.
Nearly two days of my life are a complete blank.
“They discharged me from the hospital on Saturday, Dec. 20. I could not wait to return home. I sat down in our living room and looked out over the snow-flocked trees that framed Burt Lake. On this particular day the beauty of this scene seemed magnified a thousand times. I was so grateful to take it all in. I was so grateful to be alive.”
After he returned home, Miller said he felt upset, bitter and angry about the health condition that nearly took his life. “I thought, hey, I am doing everything right. I’m taking care of myself, I follow a strict diet, I don’t eat red meat, fatty foods, fried foods. I was working hard to do the right things,” he said. “To have this happen, I guess I’m really not in control here after all. That was a real wake-up call.”
Since the episode, Miller said he hopes to get the word out to others that it could happen to them, too.
“The only way that people can deal with this situation is to recognize what the warning signs are and respond to them quickly,” Miller said. “I was really fortunate. I happened to be paying attention.”
He said he can understand why others like him could brush off the signs of heart attack. Further, he said the medical community also needs to pay closer attention to this set of patients and perform more screenings on those who present healthfully.
“The group of people that are most at risk of ignoring the signs are people like me, who are relatively athletic and fit and consider themselves very healthy,” Miller said. “These are the people who are most likely to fall victim to heart attack.”
“I began my walking therapy while I was still in the hospital. By the time I had been home for 11 days, I was walking three miles each day. When the temperature was above 25 degrees, I walked outside along the lake. When it was too cold, I did my walking at the school or at the supermarket. Two weeks after my discharge, I started my “cardiac rehab” at the brand new Cardiac Wellness Center facility inside the Cheboygan Memorial Health Center.
“I now go to cardiac rehab three times a week, and it has become an extremely uplifting experience. I feel so good to be “working out” instead of just “recovering.” The benefits are both physical and emotional. Not only am I getting back my muscle tone, but I am also rekindling my confidence. The best news is that my surgeon has given me the green-light to return to my favorite winter activity, skiing. I have now been skiing at Nub’s Nob since early February, just six weeks from the day of my surgery.
“So ... you can all quit worrying about me. I am doing fine.”
Miller credits his physical fitness prior to the bypass as crucial to his recovery.
“Even though it didn’t prevent it from happening, it was wonderful in helping me to recover quickly, and not to have the situation be any worse than it was.
“I have a few serious things to share. The warning signs that saved my life could easily have been missed. I often wonder if I would have stopped to listen, if I had been working. What if I had an appointment to keep? What if people were waiting for me? What if I were running late? Would I have allowed my work obligations to interfere with what my body was telling me?
“I am extremely fortunate that I did not have these distractions on the particular day of my cardiac event. The signals that I received were mere whispers. I was so fortunate to be listening.”
