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I was mowing the yard using the riding mower, and it was pretty warm that day. Then I did about 20 minutes of weeding, and when I finished with the weed eater, I noticed that I was exhausted. I had no pain, nothing like that, but I was just plain wore out. So I thought maybe I should see someone. I had been to Dr. Hindupur before, so I called down and got an appointment. He comes to Albany once a week, so I went over there.

Dr. Hindupur didn't see anything wrong, but he said, "Let's just do a heart catheter and a stress test." After he was in there, he wasn't in there 30 minutes, he came and told my wife that there wasn't anything they could do there, that I was going to have to have heart surgery. He said a surgeon would be in to talk to me pretty soon. A few minutes later a lady walked in and said, "Mr. Shineman, I'm Dr. Schwabe and I'll be doing your surgery."

Well, I just thought she looked so darned young, so I asked her if she's done very many of these things? And she said "Well, yes sir in the last 15 years, probably close to 2500." I said, well, that sounds pretty good to me then. I had never had any type of surgery, and I was really worried and scared.

Dr. Schwabe sat and talked with me for at least 30 minutes and answered any questions that I had, and she said, " I can do you tomorrow morning or the next day." And I said, holy cow, that's awful quick. I can't go home? And she said, "Yes, you can go home, but you've got a problem that needs to be taken care of pretty quickly." I decided that there was no need to be going home then. I'll would fret and worry over it.

Anyway, she said, "We'll take you at about 6 a.m.," and that's what they did. The surgery just went fine and Dr. Schwabe was fantastic. I was just so comfortable; she made me feel that way. All my fears and anxieties just went away when I talked to her, just knowing how nice she is and how she really cares.

I've got three kids and a lot of family, and my son was in the waiting room. The rest of them had gone down to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat, and he decided to stay. While he was there, Dr. Schwabe came in, and he had never met her before. She said, "Are you a Shineman?" He said, "Yes, I'm Steve." After she introduced herself, he was the same way. He thought, "My lands, you're the surgeon?"

I went into Intensive Care and that area was just great. There were two male nurses that I just really, really liked. Then I was sent upstairs and there again, my care was outstanding. The whole thing, I don't recommend it to anyone, but if someone needs to do it, I would tell them to have it done here. And if I had it to do over again, I would request Dr. Schwabe. I didn't even know her then, but I would definitely want her again.

Another thing that impressed me was that I was there over Memorial Day weekend, and Dr. Schwabe was in to see me on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I've been around hospitals before, and you usually don't see doctors on weekends. Each day when she was visiting with me, she was just so kind. When I asked her questions, I had no difficulty understanding what she was saying, because she talked to me in terms that I could understand.

I feel good now. I went to about 6 weeks of rehab and that went real good, and I've lost about 22 pounds. In fact, I'm two pounds below where Dr. Schwabe said it would be good if I could reach. I haven't had any difficulty at all. My strength is much better, and I can walk now. It doesn't bother me a bit.

The surgery made me realize that I need to take care of myself and that I need to have a lot better eating habits than what I had. I'm a very picky eater, and I'm not proud of it, but I'm doing a lot better. That's really helped me, and when Dr. Schwabe told me I was about two weeks away from a heart attack, that made me realize how precious life is.

You know, when something like this comes on, it's really easy to find excuses for the way you feel … getting older or just being tired. I am so glad I finally had it checked out. My heart itself wasn't affected at all. Dr. Schwabe says I'm in great shape.