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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 8 May 2024 10:06pm
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I almost crashed my Bearhawk late afternoon Saturday. I flew to Los Alamos. As I was getting close I called my friend who was picking me up at the airport. A few minutes after that I had a heart attack. I never knew that one of the indications you are having a heart attack is that you can become nauseous and vomit. Repeatedly. Made a hell of a mess in the cockpit.
Fortunately, I keep my phone on a mount on the dash and I managed to call 911. The EMT's and fire department got to the field before I did. I managed to land although it was more a hard smackdown, than a landing. I have little recollection of the details, however, I was told that my approach was quite wobbly & wild with lots of side-to-side wing tilting and yawing. It was a 5 minute ambulance ride to the Medical Center where they declared I had had a heart attack. I was stabilized enough for them to order a medevac helicopter to fly me to a bigger regional hospital with a heart and vascular unit. 10 minutes by air.
There I received two stents in the right side heart arteries that evening. Sunday I spent the day restricted to bed. I felt reasonably okay and was quickly bored. I posted here once or twice and contacted assorted friends. Monday morning another two stents were inserted on the left side of the heart. Everything went well and they released me yesterday. My daughters drove me home. My friend and my son cleaned up the Bearhawk and rented hanger storage space for it for a month.
I am rather tired and feel very lucky. Rehab exercises may take a while to regain strength and endurance but the doctors are optimistic. Not sure what will happen with flying my plane again. Hopefully, all goes well during and after cardio rehab. We will have to wait and see.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 8 May 2024 10:56pm
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Wow, that's quite a story. Really glad to hear you were able to safely land and are doing better. Scary stuff, but hopefully your on the road to recovery
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 9 May 2024 12:01am
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SO very sorry you've had this happen, and SO very glad you've 'landed'!
Since '92 Ive had several HA's from blockage, maybe 8-10 stents in all. Ime recovery from them goes really well and fair quickly as long as you 'do the work'. Even my quad by-pass in 12-'19 went well and each time I felt better than I had before because blood was finally moving again as intended!
Stay motivated, there is good life on the other side of this stuff 
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darz5150
Member
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# Posted: 9 May 2024 12:05am
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Wishing you a speedy recovery. 
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 9 May 2024 12:49am
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Same here!
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Fanman
Member
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# Posted: 9 May 2024 02:34am
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Wow. Perhaps a Bearhawk LSA is in your future?
I too had a heart attack, a month ago. I had almost gone flying that day... but it was a little on the breezy side so I went out for a hike instead in the woods back of the house. About a half hour after returning home, I got very lightheaded and dizzy, literally bouncing off the walls as I made my down the hall. There was no pain. My wife managed to get me sitting on the couch, whereupon I passed out and stopped breathing. She was able to revive me with a few rescue breaths and rubbing my chest and I woke up 15-30 seconds later, vomited, and we of course called for an ambulance. If it had happened while I was hiking (alone) or flying, or if she wasn't home, the outcome would doubtless have been very different. Even after I regained consciousness, there is no way I could have flown the plane.
Doctors put a stent in the LAD artery (the one they call the "widow maker"), which was 100% blocked, and said it appeared that I had had a couple of silent heart attacks previously. They say that with the stent, a recurrence is unlikely at this point but it's unclear when I'll be able to fly again.
A month later, I'm still tired and weak but feeling better every day. I've gone back to work part time. My flying medical is toast, of course, and I'm not going to take my chances on a special issuance medical, so my future flying will be limited to light-sport. (For those unfamiliar, if your medical expires or becomes no longer valid due to a medical condition like a heart attack, you can still fly "light-sport aircraft", which require no medical exam. But the catch-22 is that if you apply for a medical and are denied you can't fly light-sport, either.)
At this point, though, I'm still in no shape to fly. But I'm going next weekend to look at a Rose Parrakeet biplane (which is LSA), whose owner wants to trade it for my Hatz (which is not).
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Steve_S
Member
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# Posted: 9 May 2024 10:59am
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WOW, Happy your landed the plane without issue & got fixed up as quickly as you did, someone had a hand on your shoulder. Glad you're still with us. What a bunch of geezer's we are LOL.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 9 May 2024 12:32pm
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Quoting: Steve_S What a bunch of geezer's we are LOL.
Got that right. I’m going in for hernia surgery next week. Somehow went 6+ decades without any problems. Supposed to be no big deal but they sure are running a lot of pre-testing.
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Alaskajohn
Member
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# Posted: 9 May 2024 12:53pm
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Amazing story and I am glad you are able to tell us all about it. Prayers for a full recovery.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 9 May 2024 01:12pm
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Great that you where able to land. I dont fly but I'm sure muscle memory and knowing what your doing really helped here?
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 10 May 2024 01:41am
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Quoting: Fanman the catch-22 is that if you apply for a medical and are denied you can't fly light-sport, either.
THAT is precisely why I have been thinking about selling the Bearhawk. No sense shooting yourself in the foot, so to speak. Though I am not limiting myself to building. My BH 4-place should sell for enough to buy a ready-made LSA. I am not very familiar with all the choices available so will have to do some research. I do need the ability to use grass strips with no issues. The biplane sounds like it could be a fun aircraft.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 10 May 2024 07:06am
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Glad you made it and still with us.
I go to the doctor twice a year for checkup and blood tests. A couple of years ago, the doc told me I had high cholesterol which could block my arteries. He put me on Pravastatin, 40mg every day. Plus I have lost 50lbs since then (330 down to 280).
"A stent is a very small tube your healthcare provider can put inside your artery to keep it open after they move plaque (cholesterol and fat) out of the way."
Have you been getting regular checkups and blood tests? Its amazing what they can tell is going on inside.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 10 May 2024 08:41pm - Edited by: ICC
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Quoting: Steve_S What a bunch of geezer's we are LOL.
Sure seems that way...  ... better to be a geezer than one of the alternatives though.
~~~~~~~
Quoting: DaveBell Have you been getting regular checkups
Yessir. Annual checkups with my GP. My Dad and both grand-dads died from cardiac arrests before they were 64. They were overweight, I am 145 lbs, average height. But my lipids have been crowding the bad end of the scales for many years, never over the line but crowding it. BP has been reasonable for my 78 years.
The hospital doctors said that IF a heart attack could be classed as mild, mine could be. My heart kept beating and there was "only" a partial blockage. After the stents, the EKG's at the hospital were about the same as the EKG last spring. It is still not a good thing to have happen. I do wonder if or how much my flight altitude had to do with it. I had been above 1100 feet for several short periods and I did not break out the oxygen. It's not legally required at that level but I perhaps would have been wiser to use it. But I live at 8900 feet and my SpO2 runs 95-96% as a norm
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 10 May 2024 11:31pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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I can verify that having your heart completely stop would had made your Really Bad Day a Very Bad Day but you wouldn't have known it.
Last Jan 6 I had a SCA (sudden cardiac arrest), it just stopped....I awoke in ICU on the third day after not having a clue what happened. It would have been The End if I had been alone and/or riding my motorcycle, etc.
I don't ride any more, probably lucky they even let me drive a car after the 1st 3 months.
Btw, Ive got an on-board jump starter now (defibrillator unit).
All that to say I would have preferred another HA from blockage and getting stents over having the heart elec signal do a sudden stop & drop on me.
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matthewwolf
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# Posted: 15 May 2024 06:02pm
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It’s great to hear you're on the mend and surrounded by supportive family and friends. Take it easy and focus on your rehab; flying can wait until you're fully back in action.
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Tim_Ohio
Member
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# Posted: 16 May 2024 01:06pm
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Yes, be well soon. Glad you are still with us.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 16 May 2024 02:56pm - Edited by: ICC
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I have a solid offer for the Bearhawk4. I am almost certain I will accept it. We've known each other since we flew together in the Army. Perhaps I will go for an LSA of some kind, I'll have to see how this all pans out and what is wisest. I have had the privilege and fun of flying since 1963 and not everything lasts forever. But the memories do or have so far. 
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 16 May 2024 05:05pm
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Sell it and maybe still get the joy of it and flying with your friend from time to time?
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 16 May 2024 08:05pm
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Quoting: ICC I have had the privilege and fun of flying since 1963 and not everything lasts forever. But the memories do or have so far.
ICC, you have been there, done it, got it out of your system.
Way better than wanting to do something and never do it, then grow old and cant anymore. Then look back with regrets. You wont have the regrets, you had decades of flying memories.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 17 May 2024 01:45am
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Quoting: gcrank1 Sell it and maybe still get the joy of it and flying with your friend from time to time?
Clarification.... Herm is paying for the Bearhawk4 purchase but gifting it to a granddaughter. He has a Zlin Norden LSA. Similar to my present situation he sold his Bearhawk4 after he had a heart attack some 10 years ago and didn't want to take a chance on failing the 3rd class medical. He's been good ever since then. My Bearhawk will end up in NV so I may not see it again, but it will be enjoyed I am sure.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 20 May 2024 02:52am
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Quoting: ICC we flew together in the Army
What did you fly and when for the Army?
Me: 63C, 74D, and 26Y3PI. 76-84.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 20 May 2024 01:36pm - Edited by: ICC
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1962-69
Cessna O-1E, observation; mixed tours as an FAC (forward air controller) and as a trainer staateside
@DaveBell, I'm not familiar off-hand with those aircraft models and I'm out the door into the city to see the doctor. No time to Google
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Atlincabin
Member
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# Posted: 21 May 2024 04:18pm
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Glad to hear it turned out ok. Amazing story for the grandkids.... I have no medical issues, but considering selling my plane as I get older. And I just don't get to fly it enough anymore to justify the cost.
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Fanman
Member
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# Posted: 22 May 2024 12:34pm
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Well, I traded the Hatz for the Parrakeet... now just gotta figure out how to get it back from TX to CT. Flying is the obvious way, but that's a long way in a slow open cockpit biplane... but an even longer drive in a UHaul truck...
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 22 May 2024 01:40pm
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Grab the scarf, leather helmet and goggles and Go For It
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 22 May 2024 03:06pm
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Cool!
How many hops do you think?
Just need some cooperative weather.
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 22 May 2024 04:48pm
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Very cool Fanman.
Safe trip however you do it but one way would be way more fun
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 22 May 2024 07:21pm
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Wow, cool!
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Fanman
Member
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# Posted: 23 May 2024 12:43am
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Probably be 10 legs of about 150 miles each... it only holds 12 gallons. So four days at least if weather or mechanical issues don't interfere (a BIG if on a flight that long). But my wife said she'll go along if I buy her a new scooter or ebike, which makes driving a lot more attractive. I've already done the long "bring the biplane home" trip and while unforgettable, it's also extremely stressful... probably not what I need so soon after a heart attack.
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Fanman
Member
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# Posted: 19 Sep 2024 11:10am - Edited by: Fanman
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@ICC, how are you feeling? Are you flying again yet?
I finally flew my new plane for the first time on Sunday? What a sweet flying plane! Yes, I ended up trucking it home instead of flying it, then spent the past 3 months reassembling it and doing all the "while it's apart I might as well..." stuff.
Today I go for my annual physical (regular doctor, not an aviation medical) and the doc will probably tell me why I shouldn't be flying.
Picture taken after the first flight... do I look happy?
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