Bill Gale, back at the mic

Bill Gale, back at the mic

Gale continues to recover from a two-week hospital stay which included a quadruple heart bypass operation and another to insert a pacemaker. For his take on it all (he calls it “Heartless”) …

Bill writes (Aug. 22):

Well, I can’t tell you it was a day at the beach, because it certainly was not. But the good news is that I am coming back quickly now. Each day I feel stronger and more confident of a full recovery.

Without going into great detail, I blacked out one day on a treadmill at my gym, fell and hit my head. At a local hospital they found that I had a “subdural hematoma,” bleeding in the brain. That, thank goodness, cleared up by itself. But further investigation at a Trauma 1 hospital in Providence showed blocked arteries galore, hence the open heart surgery.

Two weeks later, in my cardiologist’s waiting room, I collapsed again. Three hours later in went the pacemaker. Turns out that my heartbeat was erratic, electrical signals were not getting through, and so the heart could not pump blood efficiently.

That was three weeks ago. Today, I am taking daily walks, am allowed to drive again, and feel nearly normal. The docs tell me that in a few weeks I’ll be back at the gym, back at work, too. (Plan to make my comeback review on Rhode Island Public Radio with Yasmina Reza’s “God of Carnage” — an appropriate title?)

It goes without saying that my wife, Peggy, has been a champion through all of this. I’d never have made it without her. Our kids, Susan and Jeff, were a great help, too.

That’s about it. I do plan a day at the beach tomorrow. And I’d love to hear how any of you are doing. The address is billgale@cox.net.

All the best, Bill