Between
insurance,
his friends
plan benefit
At 35, Eric Petzold thought he was too young to have a heart attack. He was wrong. Even though he’s a bit overweight and high cholesterol runs in his family, the new City of Renton employee thought he had time.
He planned to get a check-up once his new insurance kicked in May 1. His heart attack came April 19.
“It kind of came a little sooner,” Petzold says.
Petzold escaped the heart attack with medications and instructions to get healthy. But the medical treatment and prescriptions have left he and his wife Joleen, 33, about $50,000 in debt. The couple has a young son, Peyton, 6, and daughter, Reese, 4.
To help recoup some of the costs, friends are throwing a “Petzold Family Spaghetti Dinner, Raffle & Movie Night” June 6 at Carriage Crest Elementary, which Peyton attends.
At first, Eric and Joleen didn’t want a benefit in their honor. Other families deserved it more, they said. But they liked the sound of a family fun night. And they wanted the chance to warn others of the importance of heart health.
“Our main goal, why we went ahead with it … is just to make people aware that it can happen to anyone,” Joleen says.
Petzold’s heart attack came during a break between City of Kent and City of Renton jobs. He works in Renton’s stormwater department. His family was at his parents’ property in Ephrata at the time of the attack. They walked into a store after dinner and Petzold became sweaty and pale, with chest pain and a sore arm. His chest had been sore most of the day.
“I just thought it was heart burn,” Petzold says. “I thought I was too young to have a heart attack.”
Once his shirt became sweat-soaked, he went to the doctor in Ephrata, then was taken to a hospital in Wenatchee, an hour away.
Tests took 12 hours. The diagnosis: A piece of plaque in a main artery broke off, blocking the artery by between 95 and 99 percent. Any higher and he might have died. A stint (a metal tube) now holds the area open. Petzold was in the hospital three days.
Joleen says he’s now on “like six different medications.” He hasn’t had a cheeseburger since. That’s a big step for a guy who once ate lunch out everyday, mostly at fast-food joints. Now it’s chicken or turkey sandwiches from home, or half a sub sandwich, without mayonnaise. He and Joleen try to walk everyday. He plans to work up to biking or swimming. Pre-attack, Petzold’s exercise was limited to casual outdoor activities at work or with his family.
At 230 pounds, Petzold isn’t grossly fat. His regular doctor calls him obese and wants him down to 180; but his cardiologist says he’s just overweight and will be good at 200. Petzold plans to lose weight until he feels good. His cholesterol has already dropped 100 points.
“Everyone in our opinion should have their cholesterol checked,” Joleen says. “Even mine is borderline high.”
Petzold was lucky. His blood pressure is good, and he doesn’t smoke. He didn’t pass out from the heart attack or go into cardiac arrest.
“But the pain was bad enough,” Joleen says.
“Yeah,” Petzold agrees, “I don’t wish that on anybody.”
Many of Petzold’s friends share his former eating and lack-of-exercise habits. Some of them are now trying to lose weight. Others have even been to the doctor.
“I’m the one who would go to the doctor out of all my friends,” he says. “Now a lot of wives have made their husbands go, which is nice.”
Emily Garland can be reached at emily.garland@reporternewspapers.com or (425) 255-3484, ext. 5052.
Benefit dinner
The Petzold Family Spaghetti Dinner, Raffle & Movie Night is June 6 from 6-9 p.m. at Carriage Crest Elementary, 18235 140th S.E. in Renton. Tickets are $8 per adult, $4 per child, or free for children under 2. Donations can also be made to The Petzolds at Bank of America.
