Raves, Rants & Roses

ROSES: Many heartfelt thanks go out to the club tennis pros at Hollytree Country Club (Peter Gordon, Stuart Bowden, and Director of Tennis, Jim Sciarro) and Dr. David Navid (who fortunately was playing on an adjacent court) when I collapsed and went into cardiac arrest while playing tennis at Hollytree on April 28.

Their quick response literally saved my life.

Thank you, Mr. Bowden and Dr. Navid for successfully performing CPR and reviving me. I've since been told that the survival rate for "bystander" CPR is only 4 percent. Thank you, ETMC paramedics for ignoring my insane rants to let me drive myself home, and instead taking me to ETMC, where I was diagnosed with a defective aortic heart valve.

Thank you, Dr. Neelan Doolabh, who successfully performed the valve replacement surgery.

And thank you to the unknown cow, who donated its heart for the construction of my new bovine heart valve! Above all, I praise God for giving this 49-year-old more time on earth to spend with my family and friends.

I'll soon find out if the new valve is the solution to my defective backhand.

Chris Day
Jacksonville