This is the first in a series of articles about the writer’s upcoming open-heart surgery and the recovery process afterward.

By Ty Cobb Jr.

For the Salisbury Post

Like the old sales ad boasted, “the Timex takes a lickin’ but keeps on tickin’.” But even a carefully well-tuned Timex will eventually tick its last tick.  The human heart that the good Lord  “designed” and gave each of us will tick and tick and tick and give life millions of ticks to keep us chugging along. 

Most of us live many years with the “ticker” with which we have been blessed. When we are young we seldom think too much about it as it works, ticking along day after day after day. However, over time wear and tear will cause one’s heart to develop troubles.  Even if you have taken good care of the one heart you have been given, troubles will surely arise. Realizing that as I travel into the “winter of my life,” I still have a few “ticks” in my journey with my heart.

I think I have taken care of my heart for these 75 years.  I was always active playing baseball, basketball, football and one active “game” that many children today do not partake in — just playing outside for hours each day with friends. We made up games, climbed trees (oh, don’t get hurt), ran over hills and across pastures, caught frogs, played tag and generally did things to exercise to help our heart keep fit.  But we did not think of helping our hearts; we were just having fun!

Upon turning 18 was the first time I got serious in a medical way.  The Army reported to my folks and me that I needed to get a recheck on my blood pressure.  I remember getting panicky, as without a good recheck I would not get into the Military Academy and that was my ticket to a“scholarship” for a college education.  I would lie still for about 10 minutes hoping that my blood pressure would pass when taken twice a day for three days.   I passed, but just barely.

Since that time, I always get the “white coat” panic.  But I was never told much about high blood pressure until 35 years afterwards when I began taking a low-dose medicine for that. Through college I excelled at long running, boxing and wrestling.  No problem, other than a few  knocks around, until my last senior semester.  My Army commissioning medical testing informed me that I had a heart murmur (“abnormal” heart sound).  After two more months of checking the murmur, it was declared a functional heart murmur.  During 21 years in the infantry, as parachute and Ranger qualified, my murmur was always checked every year, and it continued to “function” and did not present a problem.  During my 21 years of Army service, I continued to run to stay in shape.  I always beat the maximum two-mile run score in boots and later in running shoes when the Army opted for that to save our feet!  No problem. After the service, I continued to run a couple of  miles a couple of days a week. About four months before my 50th birthday, I decided to run 50 kilometers (that is 32 miles) on my 50th birthday to prove to myself that I “still had it.”  I usually ran two days on week days, logging 5 to 8 miles on each of those days.  (A big benefit of that running was that I shed about 15 pounds and cut my “bad” cholesterol in half.) On Sunday afternoons I would log my “big” days, increasing 15 minutes each Sunday;  my last Sunday “big”run was four hours, with a lot of dodging of cars and trucks!  I ran about 19 miles that last big Sunday before my 50th birthday on June 23, 1990.   I ran the 50 kilometers in about seven hours; I was in no hurry, just wanted to finish the run.  No problem. It would be “no problems” with my heart for a few more years, but just wait and see that problems will begin to enter, “stage left.”

As the “Post” postings follow my journey with my heart and me, what I have learned and am learning may help you with your heartand its “journey.”