Flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico… “Fifteenth Airforce Bomb Group Reunion 2021”

I want to let everyone know that yesterday morning (our first morning here in Albuquerque) did not start as planned. Captain John awoke not getting his breath very well and his oxygen level was low. Our flight here had been fantastic, but during our overnight in Kansas, John encountered 2 angina episodes (he carries nitro pills for these, and both times they done their job) Then, here in Albuquerque on Monday night, he encountered another. So with that, and the situation with his breathing yesterday morning, I knew that we needed to do something. One of my thoughts of course was to call 911 for a rescue squad, but I first thought I would take a long shot and call our local personal Doctor back in Virginia (I knew I would more than likely need to leave a message) so I immediately got on the phone and left a very detailed message. Kevin Barko is who both John and I see, and he knows John’s situation very well… he also knew about our trip here to New Mexico. It seemed like a miracle but in probably less than 20 minutes, Kevin himself called me back! After much discussion, Kevin recommended (and I certainly agreed), for us to seek out an Emergency Room and to get him to it. So after a talk with the front desk and a ride from their shuttle service, we arrived at a very huge medical center called the Presbyterian Hospital of Albuquerque, which turned out to be only 4 miles away! I will shorten the rest of the story (I could write pages for what they have done here checking Captain John over). They had an amazing ER (like the ones you see on TV) and they were extremely busy, but they saw to John almost immediately due to it being possibly cardio-related. We arrived at the ER around 10:00 am and after multiple tests, they made the decision to keep him. They found that he had another heart attack, more than likely on Monday night, feeling that he had been gradually working up to one over the recent weeks. He had an event (heart attack) in December of last year and was found to have some significant blockage in his main arteries. Invasive action was not an option, due to such high-risk factors for his age… so they have been treating the problem with medications and things have been doing pretty well (as a matter of fact, both his medical doctor and his cardiologist gave their approval and blessings for him to make this trip) I have been here at the hospital with him all the time they are allowing me, and that is from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. He is in very good spirits and today is looking and doing so much better than yesterday. He has a fantastic team working with him and everyone we have encountered here is amazing! The way it looks as of now (Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 mountain time) they know they are going to keep him another night and then decide tomorrow the route forward… thinking there is a very good chance of him being released tomorrow (Friday). They are all very happy with how stable he presently is and of course, they are amazed by the man himself, I think everyone here in this big complex knows of Captain John by now! We have discussed all the details with the doctors about his release, and still being able to enjoy some time at the reunion along with our planned flight back home. It is wonderful how much they pay attention to all our thoughts and questions, they seem to sincerely care!

The Reunion and Our Flight Home…