August 30, 2015 was a milestone day for me since it was the day that I survived a heart attack and began my next phase of life. 

So I celebrate August 30 by kicking off participation in the Heart Association’s Heart Walk as a member of the Swedish Cardiac Rehab team. 

A lot has changed for me in the past 11 years.  In 2017, I retired.  Consulting work kept me professionally active for the next eight years.  But I started turning down consulting offers two years ago, and I finished my last client last December.  My friends and colleagues Deanna Sands, Ted Kalmus and I published the book I’ve been meaning to write for decades.  My friend Chris Johnson and I collaborated to form a band, and we’ve now produced over two hours of music on our site that is getting more accesses than we ever imagined.  I’ve traveled most of the western states by motorcycle, and Mary and I drove the Trans-Canada Highway in 2024.  It’s been a wonderful phase of life, and it happened because medical professionals gave me a second chance in 2015. 

Many of the advancements that make my life possible were funded by the research and development of the American Heart Association.  It’s important to me to raise funds for the association that has had a critical role in improving the training and knowledge for people like EMTs, Airlift team members, stent lab teams, cardiologists, cardiac rehabilitation nurses and exercise physiologists.  These are the professionals who made my life of the past 11 years possible and for whom I’m daily grateful.