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Suffolk News Herald
Sunday, December 4, 2005

BY JASON NORMAN

Last September, Conrad Haas was down in Pinehurst, N.C., anxious to show off the skills that made him president of the Virginia-West Virginia-District of Columbia district of the U.S. Croquet Association. He didn't know that he'd end up with a tougher challenge than any six-wicket combination could provide.

The morning of his scheduled tournament, Haas woke up with tightness in his chest. That wasn't entirely new; despite running "every day for 763 days" and keeping in shape with croquet, a heart disease diagnosis a few years before had put him on medication and limited him to walking, occasionally causing discomfort.

But this time, it didn't go away.

"It woke me up, and stayed there for about five minutes," Haas said. "I thought I'd better do something."

He headed back to Suffolk, where his son told him about Dr. Joseph Auteri, a cardiac surgeon and medical director of the Bon Secours Heart Institute in Portsmouth.

Haas and his wife Marie went in to meet with Auteri.

"Once we found him," Marie said of the doctor, "he made us feel very comfortable. He exudes confidence."

Auteri informed the Haases that Conrad had a 70 percent blockage in one artery, and several lesions in another.

"I was a little ticked off," Haas said. "I'd worked hard to keep in shape, but what it boiled down to was a matter of genetics." Heart disease runs in his family.

Though Auteri had performed more than 3,000 open-heart surgeries in his career, Haas would be the first to have the procedure at the hospital.

"I was really honored and privileged," Haas said. "He gave me good odds; he said that I had a 98 or 99 percent chance."

Perhaps that was due in part to his past.

"We enjoyed the fact that we had a very healthy heart to work with," Auteri said. "I won't say (the condition) was routine, but it was not uncommon."

On Nov. 29, Haas went in for the surgery. Using a vein from Haas' leg and another from inside his breastbone, Auteri performed the two-vessel bypass.

About an hour into the operation, someone came out of the room to see Marie.

"I asked how things were going, and she said, 'Beautiful,'" said Marie, herself a nurse. "That one word brought my stress level down. I knew I could go home and get a good night's rest."

Right away, Haas felt better.

"When I came to, I was feeling very confident," he said. "I was in good hands. There was a lot of teamwork, and I like teamwork. I really didn't feel much pain."

The day after the procedure, Haas could sit up in a chair. Three days afterward, he was able to slowly walk down the hall. Auteri said he expected Haas to be released over the weekend.

"His prognosis is for a full recovery," said Auteri, who has performed three heart surgeries since operating on Haas. "This surgery is significant because it marks the first time that open-heart surgery has been available in Western Hampton Roads."

According to Bon Secours, that particular area has the highest rate of heart disease in an eight-state region. Before the hospital opened, more than 350 area residents per year had to travel elsewhere for open-heart surgery.

"When patients get home," Auteri said, "we don't want them to be sedentary. We want them to be up and walking, which helps a lot of their systems."

On Christmas Eve of 1958, Haas proposed to Marie in St. Mary's church, and they were married about six months later. Marie can't wait for the proposal's 47th anniversary.

"I'm so happy that he did so well," she said. "I can't wait to get him home. He's my buddy."

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Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System is a leading health care organization known for providing care for the whole person with grace and clinical distinction. Bon Secours brings together a network of hospitals, primary care practices, ambulatory care sites and continuing care facilities to provide quality health care services to the residents of Hampton Roads. Bon Secours, which employs more than 4,500, includes: Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center, Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, Mary Immaculate Hospital, Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View, Bon Secours Maryview Nursing Care Center and St. Francis Nursing Center.

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