Remember this?

Lou and his mother, Mable, following his open heart surgery, May 1988

Click here for a reminder of what Dad was dealing with 22 years ago!

14 May 1988 – Got up and worked on moving dirt in the orchard, to build a pathway. I got very tired and my chest began to hurt, so I stopped and played ball with Matthew.

26 May 1988 – I had another (my 2nd) heart attack in Pleasant View

26 May 1988 – Angiogram, 5: 30 p.m. Five bad spots.

27 May 1988 – Open heart surgery. Dr. Thomas Blanch was my doctor, and Dr. Cain was the surgeon who performed the open heart surgery at McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden. I had 5 bypasses done on my heart, and was weak for a while.

Hooray for modern medicine that gave us a lot more good years with Dad!

How do you mend a broken heart?

Lou - his mother, Mable
June 3, 1988
following his open heart surgery

26 May 1988 – I had another (my 2nd) heart attack in Pleasant View

26 May 1988 – Angiogram, 5:30 p.m. Five bad spots.

27 May 1988 – Open heart surgery. Dr. Thomas Blanch was my doctor, and Dr. Cain was the surgeon who performed the open heart surgery at McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden. I had 5 bypasses done on my heart, and was weak for a while.

13 June 1988 – My weight is down to 158 pounds. I was walking in my pj’s and robe with Don when my bottoms fell down around my ankles!

22 June 1988 – Started rehab today at 8 a.m. Did a variety of exercises and was closely monitored. Today’s lecture was on stress. Stress causes an increase in cholesterol. Exercise helps get rid of cholesterol, therefore I need to walk regularly.

Treadmill time

Stretching on the step

Working the arms

Gentle jogging

Biking to good health

Stretching the arms

1 August 1988 – Went to my last physical therapy and had my exit interview. I can do most anything except I have to be very careful about lifting and be sure to exercise and watch eating habits.

Closely monitored

That's how you mend a broken heart -
with lots of therapy!

Matters of [her] Heart

When Dad recorded the events of his first heart attack, his account was brief, matter of fact, and to the point. But as you might imagine, Mom remembered many more details than he shared - the memory of that event is probably etched in her mind and heart forever!

View overlooking Hawthorne, Nevada
Clearly not a booming metropolis!

We had been visiting Chuck (Tom) and Carol in Hawthorne, Nevada for several days in March of 1983. Hawthorne was a very small town. Chuck and Carol did their shopping at Falon, which was 70 miles away. [And I'm guessing that Hawthorne lacked a major medical center that would have excellent cardiac care.]

Lou had chest pains the entire day while we were driving from Hawthorne to Kaysville, Utah to visit Lou and Colleen. Lou didn’t tell me about the chest pains until the next day. We even stopped at an Italian restaurant and ate a big meal along the way. If I had known about the chest pains, we would have gone to the hospital instead of the restaurant.

The next morning we drove into Salt Lake to go to the Church Distribution Center. While we were there, Lou said he didn’t feel well and went out to the car. Since Lou never complained much, I thought I’d better check on him. When I went to the car, I decided we’d better call the paramedics. The Distribution Center had its own paramedic team which came out and started checking Lou. They also called the fire department paramedics who put him on a stretcher in the parking lot. An ambulance took him to LDS hospital in Salt Lake - one of the paramedics said they were very good with heart patients - and I followed in our car.

They checked him out at the hospital and said there was no evidence that he had had or was having a heart attack. Lou said he felt fine. I asked them to keep him overnight for observation. That evening while Lou was eating his dinner, he started having chest pains again. I called the nurse, and she called the doctor. The nurse took me out in the hall and said Lou was having a heart attack. Lou always told of how they took him up the hall into the elevator and to the heart cath lab in such a hurry that they bumped into the walls a few times. It must have been quite a ride!

At that time [the drug] streptokinase was being tried in just four hospitals in the United States, and LDS hospital was one of those. Streptokinase was supposed to dissolve the clot blocking the artery. They did give Lou the drug, and he said within 15 minutes his chest pain was gone.

Lou said the doctors kept talking, trying to make up their minds about something [when they got him to the cath lab.] They decided to do a balloon dilation to the artery while he was still in the lab. Later the doctor said that Lou had made the medical history books. He was one of the first 15 to 20 people to receive streptokinase, and he was the second person at LDS Hospital to receive the two procedures (streptokinase to dissolve the clot and balloon dilation to open the artery) at the same time.

We were definitely in the right place at the right time for him to receive excellent medical care.

Our friends could not believe that Lou Butler could have a heart attack. He was slender, played ball every week and didn't smoke or drink. But his gender, genes and age (he had just turned 60) were against him. Lou had very little damage to his heart, and he recovered in a very short time. This may have been due in part to his good physical condition. A few weeks later he took a treadmill test. He did better than 95% of men his age (not those who had had heart attacks.)

Lou said it was the first time he had time for a heart attack. He had been released as the Stake President in January and retired from the school district in March. We had a lot of plans for the months following his retirement, and we were able to do all of those things, because he recovered so quickly. We visited our kids, vacationed with Clark and Carolyn Harriman in Port Aransas, Texas, and took a trip to Mexico.

A couple of significant events that occurred at the time of this heart attack:

• This area of Utah experienced a "100 year" east wind storm. I could not open the car door because the wind was so strong. Lou, Jr. would have to help me get in the car so I could go visit Lou in the hospital. I parked in the parking garage at the hospital so I was out of the wind and could get in and out of my car by myself!

• Our grandson, Matthew, was born while Lou was still in the hospital (April 3)

Recovering Grandpa - Grandma - new baby, Matthew Aaron
April, 1983

Matters of the Heart

Lou following first heart attack
April 5, 1983
LDS Hospital - Salt Lake City, Utah

While in Utah at the end of March 1983, Leona and I were in the Distribution Center in Salt Lake when I experienced my first heart problems. The paramedics came and transported me to LDS hospital in Salt Lake City where I had a heart attack after being admitted! I had good care and recovered well and resumed normal activity.

It's amazing to me that Dad lived more than 20 years after this first heart attack - 20 years that were filled with a lot of visits to family, church service, travel and great life experiences. Those years were a bonus for all of us as they allowed us to have Lou/Dad/Grandpa as a part of our lives during his retirement years. What a blessing!




This was Dad's journal entry - very brief for such a significant event! I can add a few details, but I'm sure that Leona can add even more. I'll update this post after getting more information from Mom - or anybody who wants to share information through a comment or email to me. Feel free to share your memories.