From Checkpoints June 2021 posted with permission.

Greetings one and all. I don’t recall if I told of my open heart surgery in January 2024. I had a slight mechanical defect in my aortic valve for several years. One flap of the tricuspid valve was weak and allowed a small backwash into the ventricle with every heartbeat. My only real symptom was fatigue, as I was not getting all the oxygenated blood my body required. After two years of monitoring, symptoms worsened and a new valve was scheduled. Unfortunately the “balloon” style valve that can be inserted through the femoral artery was not an option because my aorta lining was too clean! My healthy life-style meant I would need open-heart surgery for the replacement procedure. My relatively lean physique did allow for a less disruptive procedure called a mini-thoracotomy. Instead of “cracking" the sternum, the fourth rib down on the right side was severed from the side of the sternum and pulled back to allow access at an angle. Otherwise all else was standard - stop and deflate the heart, lungs, etc. I was home in four days. "Old man walking down the street” at one month. Full up Ninja Warrior recovery - six months. I had a very good Ninja Warrior competition in October 2024 which updated my Guinness World record as the oldest competitive ninja (2024 edition) from 74 years, 235 days to 77 years, 211 days. Getting old ain’t for sissies!

Cheers, Dave Kozak (Dellwardt)