The following excerpt from The Open Heart tells the story of Joseph Forgione, one of Dr. Sauvage's former patients. Joe's story illustrates the kind of doctor and man Dr. Sauvage is - and how he inspires us all to follow his lead towards more fulfilling lives.
A family legacy
" 'My son! My son! Figlio mio!' my father sang as he held me, his four-year-old, over his head. …Suddenly, without warning, without a kiss or a hug, his eyes rolled upward into his head, and he collapsed to the floor with me on top of him… I thought he was playing. …Many years later I was told he died from a heart attack before he even hit the floor. He was 39."
Over the next fifteen years, Joe watched three grandparents and an uncle die from heart disease. "I was terrified of this deadly disease and wondered if it would one day kill me too."
A lifetime of responsibility
After his father's death, Joe's family was thrown into poverty. When he was only 8 years old, Joe began work as a shoeshine boy - which led into a lifetime of entrepreneurship.
Joe worked intensely through his childhood and early adulthood. He was driven to become a millionaire before allowing himself to propose to his wife. He reached his goal by age 25 - but at the cost of intense stress and self-sacrifice. By the time Joe hit his 30s, he experienced symptoms of heart disease - and his emotional health suffered as well.
"I had to be busy constantly to hide from my inner self. I was suffocating my spirit and afraid to confront my essence. My work and its environment were producing sinister changes in me. …I overate, didn't exercise, gained 30 pounds, and drank heavily to escape from myself."
"Then, a week before my 39th birthday, the curse that I had feared for so long became stark reality. …Home alone, sitting in my chair … I suddenly felt a bolt of pain flash across the front of my chest and extend down my left arm. …I was wide awake, cold, sweating, and experiencing a severe ache over my heart and in my left arm. Fearing that I was about to die like my father had, I reached for the phone and called an ambulance."
An unusual encounter
Joe learned his heart disease was severe. He needed immediate bypass surgery - but he was terrified and believed no doctor could help him. On the brink of despair and preparing to take his own life, Joe received a phone call out of the blue: Dr. Lester Sauvage from Seattle, Washington had been told about Joe's case.
Dr. Sauvage explained that he believed he could help Joe, but first he asked some soul-searching questions: "Do you believe in God? Why do you want to live longer? What is happiness to you? What will you do if your life is extended?" Joe dug deep into his soul for the answers, "…and for the first time in a long time, I felt good about something."
Dr. Sauvage convinced Joe to travel from the east coast to Seattle for heart surgery and even met him at the airport. "To my utter surprise, when we disembarked from the plane, Dr. Sauvage (dressed in his surgical scrubs) was there to meet us, along with two of his staff from The Hope Heart Institute. His first words were 'Joe, I'm glad you're here. I'm confident you'll do fine.' "
Successful surgery
Joe needed five coronary artery bypasses - but his surgery went well. "I woke up about four on Sunday morning and saw that Dr. Sauvage was asleep in a reclining chair next to my bed. The nurses said he often slept like that, staying near his patients until he knew they were okay. Before long, he awoke and asked, 'How do you feel?' "
"I told him I wanted to take a shower, wash my hair, and see my family. Dr. Sauvage said, 'Let me help,' and proceeded to wash my hair with a warm moist towel. Then he dried my hair, gave my scalp an invigorating massage, and combed my hair. This 'treatment' made me feel and look much better. I could tell he had done this many times before, and that he enjoyed doing it. He wasn't too big or important to perform such services for his patients."
Life after surgery
It's been over 15 years since Joe's surgery, and he is doing remarkably well. He started a strict, low-fat diet and runs at least six miles every day, rain or shine.
"Dr. Sauvage asked me to live my life to the fullest, and not act as if I were going to die in a year or two. …Through the grace of God, I have found my way back to peace and joy and am thankful for each moment of every day. I have come to know that my happiness in this world comes from being the best husband and father I can be and helping all those outside my family that I can to the full extent of my capabilities."
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