[jrarriola]

I wonder how many of you think..."well next year we'll take that big trip". I've been guilty of that for several years now but this year something told me that it was time! So we set out in May and headed to San Diego (where I included some business appointments!) then up to Polson, MT then down to Pagosa Springs, CO, Santa Fe & Ruidoso, NM and then home. After a week at home we left again for Gulf Shores, AL, then headed up to Petoskey, MI with stops at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & NFL Hall of Fame on the way! We were gone about 5 months and had the most incredible trip ever, meeting some amazing people & vowing to go back to several of these places. About 6 days after returning home I had a heart attack & needed to have a quadruple bypass. My Cardiothoracic Surgeon told me before surgery that he knew he could successfully do the bypass but he was not sure if my heart would do what it needed to do as it was only pumping at 10% & needed to be at 35%. I spent 8 days in intensive care & when released to a Cardiac Rehab Facility I was fitted with a LifeVest which is a piece of gear that if I should go into sudden cardiac arrest, it will shock me and restart my heart. I will wear this 24 hours a day for 45 days & at that point if my heart is still not pumping at 35% I will need to have a defibulator implanted. In my quiet hours I think about my family & the things I want to be around to do with them. And I think about all of the great traveling we did this summer & by golly I'm going to make that same 5 month trip again!! So folks, if you are thinking that "next year" might be the time to take the trip I say TAKE IT!!