Hall of Fame

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I got out for the first round of golf since my heart attack. We have a Thanksgiving holiday ritual where, along with my brother-in-law and two nephews we play a round of golf in Birmingham the day after the big feast. I can happily report that my heart attack did not affect my game at all, I still stink. I refer to my game as golful.

Eric Compton is a professional golfer who has had more than his share of heart issues and he is only 27 years old. He had a heart transplant at age 12. His most recent incident occurred while he was filling out insurance forms in the emergency room at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital. After reading Eric’s story by Randall Mell in the Sun-Sentinel.com website I decided he should become the second honoree in the heart attack guy Hall of Fame.

Hang in there Eric!

Hall of Fame

For me, Sundays in the fall are football days. So I thought a post about football and heart attacks would be appropriate today. In more than a few of the heart attack stories involving guys that I've found, the guys did not let a little thing like a heart attack keep them from their passion for the game. Even when faced with a life threatening event, these guys still wanted to know how their team was doing.

Take Terry O’Neill for example. His heart attack occurred while he was watching the Steelers Colts playoff game in January 2006 at his local pub. When Jerome Bettis fumbled on the two yard line, Terry went into cardiac arrest. After being released from the hospital he seemed unfazed by his heart attack but he lamented the fact that he’d have to watch the AFC Championship game from home instead of being with his buddies at his favorite watering hole. This was of course the year that the Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl.

For that exanple of a true guy spirit, Terry becomes the first honoree in the heart attack guy Hall of Fame.