Ralph and his wife were driving home on a January day when he began sweating profusely and felt sick to his stomach. Ralph sped up and crossed into the opposite lane. “Debbie started to holler for me to slow down and that was the last thing I heard before passing out,” Ralph says. “When I came to, the car had gone off the road and slammed into a ditch.” Ralph had suffered a massive heart attack.
While Debbie wasn’t badly hurt, Ralph was rushed to CMMC where he received the diagnosis and began treatment. Ralph now spends three days a week at the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute (CMHVI) for rehabilitation. It’s a lot of time and effort, but he feels he’s lucky to be there. His provider said if he hadn’t been in the accident, it’s likely he would have died in his sleep that night.
“So here I am, and I’m doing really well,” Ralph says. “I work with the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation team three times a week and they’ve been great. Debbie and I are eating a lot healthier and exercising. I’m doing seven or eight miles between the treadmill and the stationary bike, which is great, considering that three months ago I couldn’t even take two steps.”