Another happyface story released by VASO
July 29, 1999 05:35
EECP Gave Dr. Fisher More Zest for Life
WESTBURY, N.Y., July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. John Fisher, now seventy-four years old, retired from his career as an elementary school administrator and school principal in 1985. In 1979 he had had two heart attacks, the second one while he was in the hospital being treated for the first attack. Heart bypass surgery was recommended to him after his heart attacks but Dr. Fisher did some reading on the subject and decided to "say no to that."
Dr. Fisher suffered physically and emotionally with his cardiac condition. He was obese and lethargic; he experienced a decline in cognitive function; and he suffered swelling of the hands, feet and ankles. His frequent angina attacks caused depression and a fear of dying.
In February of 1997, Dr. Fisher traveled from his home in Granada Hills, California, to the Whitaker Wellness EECP Center in Newport Beach to receive EECP. EECP, enhanced external counterpulsation, is a noninvasive treatment for angina which is administered on an outpatient basis. A series of pressure cuffs placed on the lower extremities are sequentially inflated to push blood toward the heart.
EECP is usually a series of 35 treatments, administered once a day, five days a week for seven weeks. Since Dr. Fisher lived too far to travel to the center every day for a treatment, he moved into a hotel and received multiple treatments a day over a three week period. While he was there, he also participated in a program at the center with other patients to learn how to make healthy changes in his diet and exercise habits. He lost twenty-five pounds during this period.
Dr. Fisher states that his "whole life changed" during this period, including his eating habits and his interest in exercise. He no longer experiences the frightening angina attacks he used to have. Upon his return home, his wife noticed that he had slimmed down and that "he had more energy and more zest for life." After his treatments he became very active. Five to six times a week he starts his day with stretching exercises followed by forty-five minutes on his treadmill. He is very involved with an association of elementary school administrators, working to preserve the health benefits of his fellow retirees. He also works with a foundation which raises funds for children who cannot afford eyeglasses or dental work.
Last year he was able to make a trip back to the home where he was born, in Waterbury, Connecticut; the home his grandfather built. There, sixty-four of his family members gathered for a reunion and a nostalgic trip to New York to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which was where his family had first entered this country.
Next year Dr. Fisher is looking forward to another family reunion. He and his wife of fifty-three years will join their two children, four grandchildren, as well as his brother and sister and their families, on a three day cruise to Mexico. He feels it is very important to take advantage of this kind of opportunity for families to get together. Dr. Fisher does not think he would have been able to manage either of these trips before he had EECP.
Dr. Fisher states that he "believes with his whole heart in the process he went through" and that he has much respect and gratitude for Dr. Julian Whitaker and the staff at the center who treated him with "great empathy, kindness and care."
As of July 1, 1999, Medicare provides coverage for EECP treatments. |
