**First and foremost, our Dad does not know we are doing this so if you personally know him, please help us keep this a surprise for him. As we truly want this to be a surprise, please do not contact Dad if you’re just hearing this news here. He would not be a fan of the extra attention being placed on him via social media. Feel free to message any of us kids or Sue!**

Father of four, Papa of three, and a friend to everyone.


On Monday, October 14th, our dad (Doug Pumarlo) had multiple episodes of feeling weak, confused, and blacking out. That night he fainted alone in his house. Once he woke back up, he went upstairs to lay down but had a strange feeling he should go to the hospital. Upon arrival he had another episode and was admitted to the ICU.

The tests began and ran through all of Tuesday. The original solution was a pacemaker…until the doctor had a gut feeling they should do an angiogram; this revealed something much more serious, Major Coronary Artery Disease. They quickly started plans for him to have open-heart surgery to do a triple bypass for the three blocked arteries…

-right coronary artery: 99.5% blocked
-left main coronary artery (widow maker): 95% blocked
-left anterior descending artery: 80% blocked

The doctors and nurses continuously say they are amazed and repeatedly remind him that he is lucky to be alive. Had he not had the fainting episodes we could be writing a very different story. Surgery went well and according to plan. Although everything happened so quickly, the road to recovery is much longer and difficult…physically, mentally and financially.

If you know our Dad, you know that he will put everyone else before himself. He is always ready to drop anything he is doing to give a helping hand. It doesn’t matter if you are family, a friend or a complete stranger, he would help you. He once told me “I always say I have nothing planned in case you guys need something. I feel bad if I cannot help.”  

On the opposite hand…he almost never asks for help... and on the rare occasion he does he makes sure you know that you don’t have to. This is why we are stepping in. Life isn’t meant to be done alone and we would like to give back to our dad for all of the times he has given selflessly to everyone else. With all of the blockage it is a miracle that we are given this opportunity. A miracle that he is still with us and can return from this incident even stronger than before! During his recovery, we want him to focus on getting better and not to be stressed. For this reason, we are asking for help for him- extra thoughts, prayers or a contribution of any size- all is appreciated and will impact his recovery in more ways than you know.


Provided by Medline Plus:

“Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. It is the leading cause of death in the United States in both men and women.

CAD happens when the arteries that supply blood to heart muscle become hardened and narrowed. This is due to the buildup of cholesterol and other material, called plaque, on their inner walls. This buildup is called atherosclerosis. As it grows, less blood can flow through the arteries. As a result, the heart muscle can't get the blood or oxygen it needs. This can lead to chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. Most heart attacks happen when a blood clot suddenly cuts off the hearts' blood supply, causing permanent heart damage.

Over time, CAD can also weaken the heart muscle and contribute to heart failure and arrhythmias. Heart failure means the heart can't pump blood well to the rest of the body. Arrhythmias are changes in the normal beating rhythm of the heart.”