I thought I had better check in. This will be brief as I must rest, but I wanted to thank you all for you kind thoughts and prayers. More than you know, they were needed and felt.

It is a little disconcerting to be standing on a stage in front of a thousand folks or so and have this come on. I managed to finish the performance, but it was touchy for a bit.

First off, thanks to the Mudcat Five for tracking me down. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would caution you against pissing off these women. They can and will track you down no matter where you are ..... LMAO.

There I was, laying in the bed, hooked up to every conceivable kind of monitor, two IV's Y'ed in one arm, and another in the other arm, weak, and futilely trying to fend off the ministrations of a bevy of beautiful young nurses, when the telephone rings and I hear the wonderful Scottish voice on the other end saying "This is Heather", followed by a chorus of giggles and laughs in the background. Then came the description of how they tracked me down, followed immediately by the klaxon horns and various other alarms on my monitors as my respiration became labored, my heart rate flew up, and my blood pressure went off the map, all due to the laughing I was doing. Whatever dark thoughts and self pity I had at that moment went right out the window, as I chuckled. My spirits were lifted immensely by these very special friends, and I love each of them dearly.

Quick report and then I must go lay down. My time here over the next few days will be limited, and I pray you will be a bit understanding with me.

I had a heart attack. It was not caused by a static blockage (such as plaque), but rather by a dynamic blockage. This simply means, in this case, that the beating of the heart muscle itself was collapsing a vein and causing the problem. There is some small amount of disease in a very small blood vessel, but that is very minor. I may yet have to have a stent to prevent this from happening again. There appears to be very little, if any, permanent damage. I was in Atrial fibrillation until Sunday at about 5:30 PM when they finally restored sinus rythm. I am a lucky man. I have been through a stress EKG with radioactive markers (fascinating technology), a cardiac catheterization, and every other friggin' test that you can imagine. It seems that my diastolic has elevated to an unacceptable level, and we are on that. I am down from 305 lbs (what is that, almost 22 stone) to 228 lbs. (16 stone?), and the Doctor says he would like another 20 lbs off. OK, we can do that. I am on a plethora of drugs, and we will wean from them as this passes. For the next two weeks I am to do very little, and then as much as I feel I can.

Bottom line, my friends, is that I am a lucky man. With luck, breaking a couple of very bad habits, and some work to get back into the type of shape I have been in most of my life, I will make a full recovery. Those that know me well, know that if will is part of the equation, I will pass that muster.

On to the most important thing. I want you to know that I felt, and feel, your love and good wishes. You have no idea how gratifying it was to receive calls and messages from all of you. My wife was monitoring this thread, and gave me regular updates, including my dear friend Don Meixner's joke. Thanks a shitload, buddy, you damn near sent me back into A Fib..... LOL. The thing is that when one looks at the names, realizes the friends (met and as yet unmet) he has made, well, it is a humbling experience at a time like this. When I didn't know if this would turn out well, it made the thought of travelling on a bit easier. I value you each of you more than you can know.

With love, and wishes for all the best,

Mick