Bill Aschemann is a straight shooter. He has to be. Bill likes to trap shoot. But he’s not only a straight shooter on the trap field. The 77-year-old also calls things the way he sees them.

“I have the utmost respect for Blessing’s heart care,” he said.

How Blessing earned Bill’s respect

Bill knew he had an irregular heart beat for a year. In 2023, when his condition reached a point where further testing was required, it was scheduled for a Monday. The Friday before the test, Bill spent time working in the yard. That changed his plans.

“I told my wife I think we need to go to the hospital now. I was not feeling right. I had a little pressure on my chest and it just wouldn’t go away. I thought, ‘This isn’t right.’”

Hats off to Bill for not ignoring his symptoms. After the unscheduled visit to the Blessing Hospital Emergency Center, a nationally-accredited Chest Pain Center, Bill had a new plan for the first day of the week.

“They said Monday morning you’re having open heart surgery.”

Four of Bill’s arteries were blocked – one at 95%, two at 70% and one at greater than 50%. 

“I thought I was just getting old. I had been noticing I ran out of gas and got tired really easily.”

It wasn’t age bothering Bill – it was those blocked arteries starving his heart of oxygen.

How Bill got his energy (and oxygen) back

Like so many others before him, Bill became a patient of Blessing Health’s experienced heart surgery team and double-board certified and fellowship-trained cardiovascular surgeon, John H. Arnold, MD. During 2024, Blessing celebrates 20 year’s of offering open heart surgery to the region.

“I’ll tell you one thing, I have nothing but admiration for that whole outfit,” Bill said.

That includes everyone involved in his care - Dr. Arnold and the open-heart surgery team, the Cardiovascular Unit staff, and Blessing Home Care and the Cardiac Rehabilitation teams who provided care after Bill’s discharge from the hospital.

“I’m telling you, they are wonderful. They wait on you hand-and-foot and their attitude is great.”

One of Bill’s memories of his care involves a night-shift Cardiovascular Unit nurse who came into his room at 4:30 am and found him awake.

“She said, ‘Buddy, you have got a full day today.’ I said, “Oh, I do? Why don’t we get started right now?’ She said, ‘Are you serious?’  I said, ‘Why heck yes!’ So, we started at 4:30 in the morning, walking up and down the hall,” he recalled.

“It was really a good experience,” Bill said of Blessing Health’s heart care.

And that comes from a straight shooter.

For more information on Blessing’s heart care go to https://www.blessinghealth.org/heart