Al Moulton suffers heart attact!

[gmattson]

Jay Salhanick sent the following to me:

Allen Moulton had a heart attack. He was taken to Norwood hospital and then was flown by helicopter to Boston University Hospital. He is in intensive care at this time. I called the hospital and was told he is in stable

I've asked Jay to keep us informed and when Al will be able to receive visitors. I'm sure cards would be appreciated though.

[Bill Bauknecht]

What terrible news!! Thank you for keeping us informed. Al has been through a lot and is a fighter. He'll pull through this. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.
From the Falmouth dojo.
Bill

[Van Canna]

Let us join in prayer for a speedy recovery.

Life can deal such unexpected blows.

[gmattson]

From Jay:

FYI Update

I just called the hospital and got the following information. Allen Moulton is in stable condition. He had a blood clot in one of the return arteries to the heart, I was told. The clot was removed and he is doing fine. He is expected to be in the hospital for a few days. He is in the "CCU" (Cardiac Care Unit).

They said he is stable, and doing fine.

[Van Canna]

Good news.

Do we have an address for the hospital?

[JaySal]

Update on Allen Moulton:

Boston University Hospitial
88 East Newton Street
Building - 6 North
Room - 18 B
Boston, Ma. 02118

Hospitial # 617.638.8000

I was told that Allen is doing good. He will be in the hospitial at lest a few more days.

[gmattson]

this afternoon and he is doing fine and is in good spirits.
He appreciates all the concern and well wishes from his friends and promises to post a greeting here soon.

[Guest]

That's good news GEM! He's a tough cookie, I'm sure he will bounce back quickly.............tell him to go easy on the hospital folk. (No sneaking out after lights out! )

Laird

[Stryke]

Cant beat a fighter . Hope he makes a speedy recovery

[Deep Sea]

GEM called me at the hospital the other day and one of the first things I related to him was that I could't wait to get out of here to kick some ass when he asked me how I was feeling. I guess that's the pugilistic term for me to assert that I was on the mend? He then let me know about this particular post and I did promise to let you guys in on a few details.

I arrived home from the hospital earlier this evening, and within [about five] minutes of the arrival, Christopher, who knew nothing about the incident, called me. He's on active duty deployed in the Mediterranean. A little premonition, eh?

Bill and Stryke, Al has been through a lot... and... Cant beat a fighter .

At this moment in time, I can stiil write and say "You can take the dog out of the fight but you can't take the fight out of the dog," something I adopted years ago.

tell him to go easy on the hospital folk.

When they first approached me with needles, my command to them to be gentle with this thin-skinned dude because I'm working on my 5th dan, probably earned me another shot/bag of Morphine.

No sneaking out after lights out!

Much better than that, Laird. I hung a picture of my new Low Rider by the side of my bed and they came, like moths to a candle.

All joking aside, though...

1) My youngest son's fast action got things going soon enough.

2) Being in good physical shape from maintaining a good diet and regular and consistant enercise, primarily Uechi and TKD kata practice, and the things I do with my bike, accellerated the healing process and also made for a strong and resilient heart. I really think my 30ish years of Uechi practice paid off.

3) Heart attacks can happen to anyone, no matter how good of a shape you're in or think you're in. The faster one acts during the onset determines not only life or death, but also the amount of permanent damage done to the heart when life is the outcome.

4) For myself, I'm getting a cell phone, no longer will I spend nights in the woods alone, plus follow a whole list of of dos and don'ts.

I'm getting a little sweated up, so I'm outta here.

[Edited only for grammar and spelling]

[Van Canna]

Good to see you in good spirit, Allen, and back home.

Was this an M.I. ? Any permanent damage? Any restrictions on your training?

You are mentally strong, by the way you write. You will be fine. We are all pulling for you.

[Deep Sea]

Not sure what MI is. Actiually, I don't know what MI is. Help me out here, Van.

I believe with all/any heart attack[s], there is permanent damage. To spare everyone the boring details, and to keep from sitting in one spot too long, I won't elucidate. However, in what I know of a HA, part of the heart dies because of lack of oxygen. Also a scar forms which takes up to six weeks to form/heal. The previous sentences sometimes/often point to the same thing. But in either case, that area of the heart works no longer.

The practice of martial arts could well be a thing of the past for me, at least the practice of martial arts as I know it.

In addition to being mentally strong, I remain physically strong, at least internally. How I use those remaining physical strengths will be determined by the condition of my heart as the weeks progress. In terms of mental strength, it's a matter of keeping my fingers and toes crossed without strain -- and knowing when to quit doing something early enough to prevent further damage and/or the onset of another HA.

[Van Canna]

Allen,

Go here..http://www.heartpoint.com/mi.html

Take good care.

[Deep Sea]

From that website:

The proper use of the non-medical term "heart attack" is "Myocardial Infarction". Either term is scary. "Myocardial Infarction" (abbreviated as "MI") means there is death of some of the muscle cells of the heart as a result of a lack of supply of oxygen and other nutrients. This lack of supply is caused by closure of the artery ("coronary artery") that supplies that particular part of the heart muscle with blood. This occurs 98% of the time from the process of arteriosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries") in coronary vessels.

Although it once was felt that most heart attacks were caused from the slow closure of an artery, say from 90 or 95% to 100%, it is now clear that this process can occur in even minor blockages where there is rupture of the cholesterol plaque. This in turn causes blood clotting within the artery, blocking the flow of blood. This sort of event is illustrated above. The heart muscle which is injured in this way can cause irregular rhythms which can be fatal, even when there is enough muscle left to pump plenty of blood. When the injured area heals, it will leave a scar. While the heart won't be able to pump quite as much as before, there is often plenty of good muscle left to take care of the job, and recovery can be quite complete.

While heart attacks are clearly scary, with modern techniques, patients survive most of them. Furthermore, most can have a long and satisfying life, perhaps more satisfying than before. To learn more, click "Tell Me More".
©COPY 1997 HeartPoint

Good webpage; my newfound knowledge is accurate to it. The Acronym MI was never used by the physicians, rather the full words: "Myocardial Infarction" were during the one time the event was described. Fact the acronym that was used defined the "...particularly nasty place to have a blod clot..." -- to use the good doctors' words -- rather than the type of attack.

Recently, long airplane flights have been connected with this type of thing as well.

Now we are getting somewhere....

Blood clots, Thrombosis is the term I'm familiar with, are also caused by sitting in front of a computer screen for way too long. Like a ticking time bomb, you are definitelty at risk of a heart attack if you sit in front of the computer for extended periods of time, especially if you fail to provide adequate and frequent circulation to your legs.

Life is too short to spend it all in front of a PC and really too short to make it even shorter by doing so. The older you get the worse it becomes, and of an accumulative nature. Months ago I cut my computer time way back to slightly more than a regular workday with plenty of brisk walks during the course of the dayl Maybe it wasn't soon enough.

[RACastanet]

Greetings Allen. Great to hear you are with us and in fighting shape.

Take care, Rich in Richmond