in the blink of an eye....so sad...

[sylviayasgur]

hi all!
about 2 hours ago, my oldest daughter, rachel, called me upstairs. she was in tears. she has 6 wonderful best friends that she has had for years. all us parents know each other through the girls and we all like each other.
her friend, lizzie, always told us that her dad had what joey has (AV disease), but it was mild to moderate and surgery was not even in the near future. kevin was in his early 60's. this morning he went to work in nyc as usual and collapsed and died. we are all shaken up and so distressed at this. their lives will never be the same again.
he was a wonderful man, husband and father.

it makes me think about how lucky we all are to have been saved by this amazing surgery. it brings to mind some of you who were rushed to emergency rooms with ruptured aneurisms, etc. and were saved by wonderful surgeons and are here to tell about it. it makes me cry to think that kevin never had that chance.

i think this was very close to home for me. i know it frightened rachel to no end. life is so fragile.
you kiss your husband/wife/partner goodbye as they leave for work and you take for granted that they will be home for dinner later that day.....how fleeting...
we are all so fortunate.

i'm sorry to be so depressing, it is just that this (as is usually the case) was so sudden and shocking. i can hardly contain the tears.

i hope you are all well,
sylvia

 

[Rain]

My thoughts are with you and your family, Sylvia. When something like this happens it makes us realize how precious every moment is and how unexpectedly life can end.

 

[Nancy]

Oh Sylvia-

What a terrible, terrible tragedy. I think it is something that in the back of a lot of minds here, without good medical care and this surgery, everything could be snatched away as you said, "in the blink of an eye"

Joe also had a friend who died that way, went to a football game with his son, and just keeled over. Joe told me that he knew he had problems but just never wanted to get them taken care of.

My condolences to your family and to the family of that dear man.

 

[Jan]

Hi Sylvia

my thoughts are with you at this very sad time,

I know how you must be feeling because our best friend Michael died suddenly in January of this year, we had been friends for 30 years, Michael was 48 years of age,

He was diagnosed as having Cardiomyopathy around 10 years ago but last year the Drs decided that he did not have it and discharged him,

Around Christmas he had a A/ Fib and they put his heart back in rhythm, three weeks later he collasped and died at his daughters front door,and when they did the post mortem they said he did have the disease,

His mother and 2 sisters died of the same disease so why was Michael allowed to slip through the net,

he could have been fitted a Cardio Inverter which would have saved his life, we have lost our best friend but his father has lost his only son and his children a father.

Michael was a Bruce Springsteen fan and we went to the concerts together, today our tickets arrived for the Springsteen concert in Manchester next week, we will go but it will be hard because Michael will be missing,

But we will think of him with love and I am sure he will be watching over us

I really feel for you, and yes we are the lucky ones we were given a chance our friends were not

Remember the good times

Jan

 

[Christina]

Sylvia, I am so sorry that this happened to your friend. This reminded me of my own situation now almost three years ago.
If I wouldn't have been assertive with my PCP at that time, and demanded a echocardiogram after my EKG came back normal when I was in his office, I would have been dead a few short months later.
I feel so lucky that I went ahead with the echo, because many times during the 6 weeks I had to wait for the appointment I thought about cancelling, and thought "nothing is going to be wrong, and they will laugh me out of the office".
But there was something wrong and I had surgery within three weeks because I was near 'sudden' death I was told. I shudder to think what could have happened if I wouldn't have followed my own intuition and stand up to a doctor who acted like that echo had to be paid for out of his own pocket.

 

[sylviayasgur]

thank you all for your kind words. i knew you would understand.
i guess it's God's reminder to us fortunate ones to never take things for granted.
you are such a wonderful bunch. i truly love this site and am so thankful for each and every one of you.
-sylvia

 

[McCln]

I had an uncle who had enlarged heart from scarlitt fever. There was a time when he was very sick and he went into the hospital for tests on his heart. He did com home and the job let him back. The same day, later, he sat in his favorite chair and died. So you never know when it is time. And heart problems are hard to predict how bad it is till it is too late. My prayers are with the young lady and her family. She will have a hard time for quite a while. Take care and be good.

Caroline
09-13-01
Aortic valve replacement
St. Jude's valve

 

[bvdr]

Sylvia,

I feel so bad for everyone whose heart is breaking from this sudden death. You are so right as to the fragility of life.

We are in the middle of moving and today some very good friends from church helped unpack boxes and settle me into my new kitchen. Everytime I started to feel sorry for myself because of how diminished my capacity is right now, I would look around and see these women so happily pitching in and I would just feel so fortunate.

Each day is truly a gift. We all truly are blessed to be able to see that. Give your daughter an extra hug OK?.........Betty

 

[Georgia]

Sylvia, I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend. We'll all hold our loved ones closer tonight. And give thanks that our illnesses could be fixed.

Such tragedy is an eye-opener; although most of us who visit here are much more aware than most of our mortality, this has the effect of reminding us once again of our good fortune.

 

[TIM W.]

Sylvia, I feel so bad for this tragedy. So many times, it is so hard to think that we truly are the fortunate ones. Your post made me realize how lucky we are! Best wishes to your family and to Kevin's as well. Tim

 

[epstns]

Sylvia, I think I know what you are feeling -- from a slightly different perspective. My daughter's best friend's father passed away last December (just before Christmas) from a sudden and unexpected cardiac arrest, then just a week later I was diagnosed with aortic stenosis. Through all the grief, the one major message I've received from the experience is that those of us who are warned should very carefully heed those warnings.

We share your sorrow.

 

[Jean]

Sylvia, others have said it better than I can, but please know I send you, your daughter and the man's family cyber hugs. I am so sorry to hear this. God bless.

 

[Scottie]

Sylvia

Sylvia

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your friend Sylvia ...we all should be more thankful for the extra time we have been given and your story is a timely reminder to me at least ...
Prayers and hugs for your loss
Scottie

 

[Guest]

Wow, Sylvia....everytime I hear/read about a story like this...it reminds me of my best friend Josh...who died suddenly of an asthma attack 2 days after Christmas in 1987.

Life is fragil...and a gift .

My prayers are with you and your family....

Peace...always,
Cort S, pig's valve & pacemaker-enhanced 29/swm
Instant Messengers...AOL="fc72mc"...Yahoo="knightfan2691"
member & newsletter editor, Faith COB: http://www.faithcob.org
MC's Future: http://www.projectmonte.com/petition/
My MC Family: http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
Spotting MCs: http://www.chevyasylum.com/mcspotter/main.html

 

[nadi]

My prayers are with you and your friends family.

 

[sylviayasgur]

thank you all so very much!
this is a very special place with very special members. i love each and every one of you .
there are no words to express my gratitude to hank for creating this, and to all of you for your unending support.
i expect to meet many of you at the reunion and look forward to giving each one of you a big hug.
again, thank you,
sylvia