This is an article I wrote for the KCWellness Magazine in September 2005:

Back on May 26, 2005 I found myself at KU Med having heart by-pass surgery. I had gone to my personal physician the first week of May for a checkup and she had noticed a blip on my EKG. Being prudent, she sent me off to Mid-America Cardiology for an Echo and Stress test. This was the second week of May. The echo test did not look good and they passed on the stress test so off I was to KU Med for more testing. This was the third week of May. The testing at KU Med showed that I needed by-pass surgery, in spite of not having any symptoms or pain. I took a few days to get my affairs in order and off we went back for the surgery. At this writing I am at my 6 month anniversary after the surgery and I feel great. I am working full-time and use a minimum of prescription meds, lots of herbals and have a great attitude. I'd like to share a few thoughts with you, sort of an "afterglow" from my life-changing event:

Next to a firm faith in God, I found that my attitude has played a decisive role in my recovery and moving past this event in my life. Being open and receptive to all the positive help that has been offered to me has been key to my recovery. As a man and a person, I have played the "Superman" role all my life. My ego has hurt me more than helped me over the years. For me to ask and accept help is difficult. As difficult as it has been, I have hung up my cape and have quickly learned that this was not the end of my life. I have the gift of a second chance and a virtually new heart. If you remember the phrase "harden not your heart", I have learned to embrace this lifestyle. After all, my inability to accept love, embracing stress and wandering through life with a lot of bad habits helped land me in the hospital. Sure, I had a genetic issue that technically caused the surgery but my ego and my miss directed understanding on how to be a man helped pull the pin on this health grenade.

With my changed attitude, prayer, some very specific herbal formulas, colonics, a new 99% organic diet, weekly energy sessions, chiropractic and a complete and open communication with my wife Linda, I shaved weeks off of my recovery time and, I believe, avoided a lot of emotional and physical pain. One after affect of any major surgery is depression, let's talk about it.

When I was put on a heart-lung by-pass machine, my blood was cooled down. this cooling down in turn cools down your brain. It is not uncommon for this brain cooling to result in depression, at least for a period of time. Again, I used some specific herbal formulas to address this experience and, other than a few sad days, have not had any depression to deal with.

Anesthesia was the next hurdle to overcome. Since it sits in your fat cells and continues to turn toxic, creating brain fog, I addressed this issue with additional colonics, specific liver cleaning and re-building formulas. I also sat outside for 30 minutes a day, literally baking the stuff out of me. The yellowish ting to my skin went away quickly and the ear creases I had, a tell tail sign of heart disease all but disappeared.

Sometimes medications can become a major roadblock in the bedroom. Most often we don't like to discuss these things but it's important. Because many high blood pressure medications and specifically beta blockers can interfer with a man having and holding an erection, it's important to tell your doctor right away if this or any other side effect shows up. I had the problem with a beta blocker and it was dose related, a quick phone call and some changes, all was well in this area of my life!

In closing, I can tell you that the love of a good woman has made this life-changing event worth going through. The love that Lynn and I share has sustained me, sometime by the hour when I am having a bad spell....for this love I am eternally grateful!

Be well!

Dave Laskowski, Herbalist
Viable Options - N. Kansas City, MO

"These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These statements and products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Please always check with your medical professional."