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((WardellWardell HHarlessarless pperformserforms a MMenen iinn SSkirtskirts routineroutine atat thethe TurkeyTurkey BowlBowl Thursday.Thursday. FForor mmore,ore, sseeee PagePage 44.).) ((PhotoPhoto bbyy EElizabethlizabeth Davie)Davie) Commentary You never know when your routine day won’t be So let’s review. worry about what I quit smoking 12 years ago. I work out and exercise al- changes it might most daily. I’ve never been overweight. I eat healthy food bring to my life. As (or so I thought). My cholesterol wasn’t too bad. with some previ- I fi gured I was in great shape for 58. So what hap- ous problems I’ve pens? I have a heart attack. It’s really, really annoying. had, he helped me When we wake up in the morning, we all expect to have through this not another routine day. Go to work, come home, eat dinner, just medically, but maybe watch television, play a sport or go to the gym. mentally as well. Then it’s to sleep until the next routine day starts. I knew if I was in That was pretty much my plan when I got out of bed on his care, I was going to be all right. Oct. 27. It was going to be just another day. I’ve heard some people make disparaging remarks And that’s what it was until the evening. about the hospital. Well, they haven’t talked to me. As I got home from my second job at 7:15 p.m. I ate a little far as I’m concerned, we’re all in good hands here and something and was sitting at my computer when it hit me. we should be thankful for the people on this island who One second I was feeling fi ne and the next second dedicate themselves to helping others. it felt as if King Kong had punched a hole in my chest, I was fl own to Queens Medical Center in Honolulu. I grabbed hold of everything in there and was crushing never want to be in a hospital again, but if I have to be, it as hard as he could. My back between my shoulder Queens would by my fi rst choice. I had wonderful care blades felt as if someone had stuck knives in it. My jaw, from the nurses and doctors there. They had a book on my ears and my head felt as if they were going to ex- me that they carried around with them. It was pretty thick plode. It was nothing I’d ever experienced before. But I and I fi gure it probably cost about a $1,000 per page. knew it was a heart attack. There was a chalkboard on the wall in my room and it In the fog of pain, I thought it couldn’t be happening. I had information about me and my care. was in total disbelief. One of the instructions was about diet and it simply said My wife was upstairs watching television. I had diffi culty ‘cardiac.’ I erased it and wrote pizza and cheeseburgers. speaking and though I tried to call to her, she couldn’t They seemed to be humor impaired when they saw it. hear me. I somehow managed to get up the stairs to the The cardiologist performed a heart catherization on me hallway outside the bedroom. and a few days later he wanted me to do a stress test on She was watching one of her favorite programs, Wife a treadmill. I said, “Excuse me, I just had a heart attack Swap. I hoped that wasn’t an omen. I called to her from here. Don’t really want to run on a treadmill, thank you.” the hallway. She answered back she was watching televi- But they weren’t worried. They make you sign a release sion and what did I want. I guess there must have been so if you die, they can’t be sued. a break in the show because she came out and saw me A lot of things in my life changed Oct. 27. I guess I’ve there. eaten my last McDonald’s double cheeseburger. My diet There are some things in my life that I never want to now pretty much consists of tree bark without salt. I had experience again. One of them is having another heart to sit around on Thanksgiving knowing everybody on the attack and another is hearing the fear and anguish in my island was pigging out while I had my no-sodium shred- wife’s voice as she called 911 and pleaded with the para- ded wheat. But this Thanksgiving, I really was thankful to medics to come as fast as they could. be around to eat that shredded wheat. The fi re department got to our house in a few minutes. While I was in the cardiac unit at Queens, I had a lot of They did their jobs in a professional and calm manner time to think. I wondered what more I could have asked and that in turn helped to calm my wife and me. They got God to give me in this life. I’ve had times when I was full me to the hospital quickly and the staff there took over. of despair and bitterness about things that have hap- I can’t say enough about the people at our hospital. pened. I’ve had rough times when I just couldn’t see any Nurses Amanda and Shawn were the fi rst to greet me in light at the end of the tunnel. the emergency room and Dr. Lindborg, who I consider a But laying in that hospital bed, I began to look at my good friend and an even better doctor, arrived shortly. time here on Earth and I fi nally fi gured out that I really When he told me that I was indeed having a heart at- tack, he said just to take things hour-by-hour and not to See ROUTINE DAY, Page 3 The Kwajalein Hourglass sarily offi cial views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Govern- Commanding Offi cer..........COL Beverly Stipe ment, Department of Defense, Department of the Army Public Affairs Offi cer.....................Sandy Miller The Hourglass is named for the insignia of the or USAKA. It is published Wednesdays and Saturdays Editor.....................................Nell Drumheller U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division, which liberated the in accordance with Army Regulation 360-1 and using a island from the forces of Imperial Japan on Feb. 4, network printer by Kwajalein Range Services editorial Graphics Designer.........................Dan Adler 1944. staff. Reporter................................Elizabeth Davie The Kwajalein Hourglass is an authorized pub- P.O. Box 23, APO AP 96555 High School volunteer.............Lisa Barbella lication for military personnel, federal employees, Phone: Autovon 254-3539; local 53539 Circulation..............................Will O'Connell contractor workers and their families assigned to Printed circulation: 2,000 USAKA. Contents of the Hourglass are not neces- The Kwajalein Hourglass 2 Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005 Let’s have some fun Youth Services creates after-school open recreation programs for island students By Elizabeth Davie age lead more time to plan a higher to the public during Wednesday’s Reporter quality program,” she said. School Age Services open house These new concepts were prompt- following the PTO meeting. Island youth can anticipate ed by a visit from the Army Pacifi c She added that some events more options for after-school fun Region Child and Youth Evaluation offered in the evenings and week- from Child and Youth Services. Team, Sektnan said they noted in ends will not be free. “They will be According to Julia Sektnan, CYS their visit last year that CYS was School Age Services sponsored, instructor, the community will not providing enough open recre- but not fall into the open recre- see some changes in the CYS pro- ation for school-age children. ation programming, providing gram. “The concept that will affect Sektnan said the community they will have a fee.” the overall program the most is will see more night and evening Sektnan said another goal of that the school-age lead will now programs offered to grades one the reorganization is to provide be shared with the youth cen- through six. more programming for older ter instead of also being a child “Most of these events will fall un- school-age youth from grades development center der the ‘open recreation’ concept of four through six. “We are also lead teacher. This CYS programming. Open recreation working together to bring a will give the school- events are open to all CYS regis- greater united School Age Pro- tered youth free of charge. Due to gram, by including all School the nature of some events, a cer- Age Services information in a tain age group will be invited and central place, CYS central regis- an alternative program at a differ- tration,” she added. ent time or day will be offered to Sektnan credits Kwajalein the age groups not included. The Range Services upper manage- event may be completely different ment with helping make this than that offered to the other age change by seeing the open recre- group,” she said. ation aspect of the program as a The open recreation concept is an community need, which prompt- Army program for school-age pro- ed the position restructure. gramming. Sektnan said commu- If a community member has an nity input is a large part of deter- idea for an open recreation event, mining individual events offered on call Sektnan at 51250.

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