THANKS

I just wanted to thank everyone for their prayers, well-wishes, and outpouring of love and support recently. I did indeed have a heart attack on Saturday, January 31st, 2026, my first, at the ripe old age of 48.

I’d had a really bad flu around January 13-14th, just before the big snow came in here in Maryland, and then never really bounced back from it. I had post-flu bronchitis or something, and really struggled with shoveling and snow removal. I was having chest pains and shortness of breathe, and painful breathing out in the frigid cold weather, among other things. I took some steroids that I had on standby for an occasional allergy issue which can also help with bronchitis, and it was 90% better the next day. I was able to shovel out our entire sidewalk area, which is quite big being on a corner, along with our driveway. Debbie and I thought for sure that was it, and that I’d eventually bounce back and continue to recover. A week or two passed and I still didn’t feel like I was getting better. I actually felt like I was degrading, to the point that even getting around the house and walking our dogs started to become difficult. I also had some strange flaring upper chest pain starting on the Thursday and Friday before, during moments of short exertion of tension (like when being nearly run off the road on a daily basis while driving in Maryland), which seemed to be ‘new’. This was not fitting the profile of cold weather breathing related issues, and is when I subconsciously started to get a bit more concerned.

By mid-Saturday morning, January 31st, that strange flaring upper chest pain was now being experienced continuously including at rest, and I ended up checking myself into urgent care late morning. I just couldn’t get going for the day with our son even by mid-morning, had no energy at all, and now had this continuous upper chest pain which seemed different than before. Debbie and I still thought it was post-flu bronchitis, or maybe even walking pneumonia. But it wasn’t.

My vitals looked a bit screwy at urgent care, with a just slightly not normal looking EKG. No smoking gun, but they thought tests should be run that they couldn’t run there and told me to go to the ER, mentioning thinking I might be having heart problems. (What?) I was in a state of disbelief about that, but followed doctor’s orders, skipped the ambulance, and drove myself down to the Suburban Hospital ER while calling Debbie back from our Delaware place. She had left early that morning with her mother and brother and sister early, while it was supposed to have been a boys weekend at home with my son (I did feel okay first thing in the morning). I got checked into a room quickly in the ER, and they started a bunch of tests which were the same. My vitals were a bit off, but no positive signs of anything. I had a chest x-ray, CT scan, blood work, and an EKG, and they just kept monitoring me, not quite sure what was going on. Debbie arrived back in Maryland mid-afternoon, still wondering why they wouldn’t just give me a nebulizer for the lung issues, which I WAS having (CT scan showed lingering pneumonia!)

Around 6pm Saturday, my EKG started to degrade to the point of being a positive indicator, and my troponin levels (heart attack indicator enzyme) also doubled within a few hours. They ran an echo-cardiogram in my ER room which was also abnormal.

I was starting to have a heart attack right in the ER.

They loaded me up with some drugs (nitroglycerin, heparin, aspirin), and then got me back for a STAT cardiac catheterization procedure. Somewhat oblivious at that point of what was even going on, I was still in denial that I could possibly be having heart problems at 48 years-old while under moderate sedation in the OR, right up until the cardiologist doing the procedure told me I had two arteries 95% blocked, and was placing three stents. With the specific arteries blocked (LAD & RCA), this was highly likely to have been fatal – aka the “widowmaker” – if I’d had the heart attack at home that night. The survival rate for this type of heart attack outside of a hospital is only around 12%, hence its nickname. If I hadn’t checked myself into urgent care and then the ER when I did, I’d likely be with the Lord right now. Debbie about fell over when the cardiologist told her. Absolutely crazy.

Obviously, God and His angels were surrounding me and guiding me, along with all of the care staff at Suburban Hospital, to get me exactly where I needed to be at exactly the right time, to save my life. There’s no other explanation. What in all likelihood would have been a fatal heart attack, at home while my wife was gone, was stopped in its tracks right in the hospital before it had a chance to take my life or do any significant damage. I’m expected to make a FULL recovery with little to no permanent heart damage. Praise the Lord! I was discharged late morning on Monday, Feb 2nd, and took the week off to rest and recover.

Physically, I’ve been feeling way better since being discharged. I’ve finally started to feel “normal” again after the dreaded flu which wasn’t just flu, but have definitely been taking it easy and adjusting to a ton of medications I now have to take. I do have a long road to recovery in front of me.

Mentally, this has been a bit complicated to handle from my cancer history at 33, and now this at 48. You would think I would feel cursed, as I did for many years after my cancer fight. Instead, I cannot even begin to tell you how how incredibly BLESSED I feel. Everything has changed in my life since I found my way back to Jesus five years ago. I’ve never felt closer to God, and have never felt more like He is with me than I do now.

I’m not cursed, I’m truly blessed. I’m here only by God’s grace, will, and purpose. Praise the Lord!

Thanks again for all of the love, support, prayers, and encouragement.

I’ll share more in the near future.

God bless,
Steve Pake