Triad football coach has ‘new appreciation for life’ after suffering heart attack
The head football coach at Triad High School for the past 22 years, Paul Bassler knows all about the breaks of the game.
Little things that seem insignificant at the time, are often the difference between winning and losing and being a champion to settling for being a perennial also-ran.
The same can be said in life where simply being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference in the world. For the 56-year-old Bassler, one of the most successful football coaches in Southern Illinois the past two decades, being in the right place at the right time March 25 saved his life.
After suffering from stiffness and pains at different times over a three week period, Bassler had his wife Kristy drive him to Anderson Hospital in Maryville after experiencing intense pain over his back and down the left side of his arm.
He was having a heart attack.
“When in the emergency room, they (ER personnel) had taken an EKG and it was normal. They said they would wait five minutes and take another one,” Bassler said. “I didn’t make it the five minutes before it went into an attack.
“I had lost consciousness, and they started compressions and shocked me once on low, continued compressions and had shocked me a second time on medium before my heart responded. They said that if I had not been where I could have received the shocks I would not have made it.”
The diagnosis wasn’t good. The left main artery or the left anterior descending artery (LAD) was 99% blocked.
“If blood gets 100% blocked at that critical location, it is almost always fatal — hence the nickname ‘Widow Maker,’‘’ Bassler said.
“They called the cardiac doctor, Dr. Koul, in and opened up the Catheter Lab which was closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak and they did the catheter to see what was going on.
“Everything was good except the LAD. They did put in a stent.’’
Kristy Bassler said her husband had been feeling pains for a couple of weeks prior to the heart attack.
“He thought it was muscle issues because he had started swimming. I finally talked him into going to the doctor. He picked a cardiologist and we went to see him on March 24th, the day before his attack. The doctor scheduled him for several tests, but told him if he felt worse to go to the ER,” Kristy Bassler said.
“The day of the attack he had some pains which were worse than before, so luckily he realized he needed to go to the ER and it did not take too much convincing to get him to go. He called his cardiologist and they informed him to go to the closest ER, which was Anderson Hospital.’’
Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Kristy was the only family member allowed in the ER with her husband and was with him when he had the attack. She was then told she had to leave the hospital when Paul was taken to the Cath Lab for the procedure.
“They gave me the risks of the procedure, told me they would contact me in about an hour and sent me home,” Kristy Bassler said. “The doctor who performed the procedure called me himself a little over an hour later and informed me that Paul had 99% blockage in the main artery to his heart and he opened it up with a stint. He said the good news was that there was no other blockage and the best news was there was no damage to the heart.
“The worst part was not being able to go to the hospital. I was able to talk to him on the phone that night and was also able to drop off his cell phone off the next morning at the front door of the hospital. Everyone was wonderful at Anderson about keeping me informed with what was going on with him and his condition.”
After spending the next 48 hours in the intensive care unit because of COVID-19, Paul Bassler was discharged from Anderson Hospital at 6 p.m. March 27.
Returning to the sidelines
While schools remained closed due to COVID-19, Bassler returned to on-line teaching at Triad on March 30. If schools reopen this year, Bassler will return to Triad High School.
Bassler, who turns 57 in June, will return to the sidelines with his Knights for summer workouts and will return for his 34th straight season as a football coach beginning in August.
After three seasons as a student assistant at Southeast Missouri State (1986-88) and two years as an assistant at Althoff under Glenn Schott (1990-91), Bassler began his coaching career at Triad in 1992.
After six years as an assistant, Bassler took over as the Knights head coach in 1998. In his 22-year tenure, Triad has been to the IHSA playoffs 15 times and grabbed at least a share of the Mississippi Valley Conference title 10 times.
The Knights finished 7-4 and reached the second round of the Class 5A playoffs this past season.
Bassler will enter his 23rd season as Knights coach with a record of 132-91. And he’s far from through.
“When I first came home my chest was very sore. They told me that it was from the chest compressions and the two shocks they had to give me in order to revive me. That pain has greatly subsided, so I am feeling a lot better. My cardiac doctor told me that there is no reason, if I take care of myself, that I can’t live at least 20 more years,” Bassler said.
“I will turn 57 in nine weeks on June 16, and, yes, I plan on coaching football for at least three more and probably no more than eight more seasons.”
Kristy Bassler said she feels Paul’s decision to return to coaching is a good one because it is what “he loves to do.”
“We have talked a little bit about him going back to coaching,” she said. “I am comfortable with him going back to coaching because it is what he loves to do. He informed me and my daughter that it does not cause him too much stress, which I believe most of the time.
“His doctor has informed him he should have no problems as long as he takes care of himself, so, I along with our children, will try to make sure he does!”
The early warning signs
Bassler said he first noticed something wasn’t right in early March in a swimming workout, then when he visited his son in Phoenix.
“On March 3rd I started a new swimming workout, because my knees were getting sore on land workouts. I was doing a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday rotation in the pool. I started feeling tightness across my back and under my left arm and right elbow after my workouts,” Bassler said. “I just thought that I was using muscles that I was not used to using.”
Ten days later, the Basslers flew to Phoenix where their son Hunter had begun a new job at the NBC affiliate.
“We had tickets to see the Angles and Cubs preseason baseball game and the Coyotes and Rangers hockey game on that Saturday. It was on Thursday, March 12th, that both leagues suspended their seasons,” Bassler said.
“With that happening to us we decided to visit the Phoenix botanical gardens on Saturday. We walked 3.1 miles that day and I felt good. On Sunday we decided to visit the Phoenix Zoo. About an hour and a half into our visit, my back and left arm got really tight and I had to stop and sit for a while until the tightness subsided.”
After returning home, Bassler experienced more discomfort and, after a week, had an appointment with a cardiologist March 24. A sleep test and stress test were scheduled for March 27. But that all changed March 25.
Thankful and appreciative of a second chance
Eternally grateful to the medical staff at Anderson Hospital, Bassler wrote a letter of thanks last week.
Our HEROES,
First, I want to thank everyone involved with saving my life on Wednesday, March 25th, in the emergency room. It is my understanding the artery that I had blocked by 99% is referred to as the widow maker! My wife and I thank you for not allowing it to live up to its name. I know that I was very fortunate being in the right place at the right time and your swift execution of a cardiac emergency saved my life. I was pretty out of it, but it has been shared with me that a few of my heroes were Kelly, Erica, and John. I know that there were a few more because that room was packed with people, so Thank You to everyone else that contributed.
Secondly, I want to thank Jason, Eric and Dr. Koul for their professionalism with performing the catheter and placement of the stint and seal. Jason and Eric, it was very calming, under the circumstances, to have a conversation with you about where you are from and some of the people that we mutually know.
Lastly, the staff that took care of me in the ICU. It started with Debbie my first night there. Debbie, you were very comforting at a time I was scared to death about what happened and what to expect. The rest of the crew: Erica, Kendra, Kim, Lance and Jennifer, you all were very comforting and helpful my entire stay. Again, it was a very scary time for me with much uncertainty, not to mention being all alone, and you all made it a very easy transition.
Not often do we get a second chance at things, but I have been granted one. My hope is to live this part of my life better than before and to make each one of you proud for saving my life, so not only do I want to thank you for my situation, but for putting your lives on the line for everyone else with the COVID-19. You are all truly HEROES, not only to me but everyone.
My hope is that you and your families stay safe and healthy through this craziness!!
Much LOVE,
Paul Bassler
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 11:47 AM.
