Heart Scene: A Joyful Day
By: Tony Mussari
He who has not looked on sorrow will never see joy.
Kahili Gibran
Standing on a grassy knoll located between the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and the
historic Wilkes-Barre Cemetery were three doctors, two businessmen, the Executive Director of the county’s Office of Human Services and a recovering quadruple by-pass surgery patient.
The sky was filled with dark clouds that were eclipsed by the brilliant smiles on the faces of the seven people on the ground who were bantering like teenagers at recess as they waited for the photographer to snap their picture. It was a moment of grand celebration and everyone assembled knew it.
Three months earlier at the very time this picture was being snapped I was in intensive care breathing on a ventilator as four by-passes enabled my heart to pump blood successfully along the 60,000 miles of my circulatory system.
Lying motionless in a black sleep induced by deep anesthesia, I was in a transitory state, not dead, but certainly not fully alive. My location was close to the River Styx, and everyone knew it.
For the next several days these were the people who worked in scientific and human ways to give me life.
On this day our group of miracle workers came together, perhaps for the last time, to pose for a picture that will accompany an article that records my story: King’s College Graduates Saved My Life.
It was a wonderful moment of friendship. It was an important moment of gratitude. It was a special moment of great joy. It was a testimonial moment to the power of science, prayer, friendship, kindness and everything that really matters in life.
It was a moment we feared would never happen. It was a quiet moment that spoke to the brilliance of the Chief Cardiothoracic Surgeon of this fine hospital, my family physician and an infectious disease specialist. It was a defining moment for two young men who I held in my arms when they were infants. It was a reunion moment for a high school friend who is the most spiritual person I know. It was a moment of relief for my wife who looked on using our Cannon Rebel to record the scene. It was an enjoyable moment for two former students, one who took the picture the other who administered the event.
Dr. Michael Harostock is the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Wilkes-Barre General 
Hospital. In my mind, he personifies what a medical doctor should be. He is bright, charming, competent and very human. He knows heart science as well, if not better, than any surgeon in America. He has saved thousands of lives during his practice. He loves what he does, and he does it in a way that gives his patients comfort and hope as well as healing.
As we stood next to one another for the picture, my heart was filled with gratitude for everything Michael Harostock did to give me a second chance at life. His kindness and generosity of spirit, his self deprecating humor, his discipline and skill in the 
operating room, his encouragement in the recovery unit and his remarkable partnership with his wife, Beverly, enables him to give heart patients a kind of quality care and healing that is rare indeed.
It was a beautiful moment to stand next to the person who saved my life in such an affirming way.
Dr. Michael Fath is my primary care physician. He diagnosed the symptoms that led to this moment. For several years, he worried about my cholesterol and rising blood pressure. He encouraged me to take the medications that would reduce these levels, but the muscle pains that came with the statins I was taking at the time discouraged me. This was a very stressful period of my life 
and at times the will to live was not as positive or determined as it should have been.
He knew that, but he never gave up on his patient. He was always, pleasant, encouraging, helpful and respectful. During our periodic visits, he took time to talk and share life stories. I appreciated his concern and I admired his thoughtful way. He is a good man and a fine doctor. You could tell by the smile on his face that this was a moment of achievement for a young doctor who wanted his patient to enjoy life.
I met Dr. Linda Slavoski on a day of some concern. Dr. Harostock noticed something in 
my blood that he could not identify, and Dr. Slavoski was one of two infectious disease specialists he turned to for the answer.
She is a woman of great discipline and intelligence. Our time together was brief, but I felt a special connection with her because I know her father-in-law, John Slavoski, a man of great dignity and class.
On this day there were no blood cultures to be ordered. There was just a smile and a comment that I will not soon forget.
When our eyes met, her face radiated satisfaction when she said, “You look much better today than when we first met.”
Sean and Tom McGrath are an important part of my personal history. They were infants when we lived on East South Street and later on South Grant Street. Their 
father, Tom, and my father were friends. The McGraths are just a wonderful family, and Sean and my son, Tony, spent many wonderful summers together doing the things that youngsters do.
Sean is a man with a million dollar smile and a personality to match. Tom is his father’s son, personable, business-like and always quick with a good story about family or friends that will make you laugh.
These are two men who I like in ways that defy description. I feel good when I am with them and I miss them when I do not see them.
Shortly after my cardiac event, I called Sean to inquire about the physician who was to perform the cardiac catheterization. Sean connected me with Tom whose business puts him in the operating room several time a week. Together the McGraths provided encouragement, information and friendship that was life sustaining. To me they personify goodness and kindness, and their help was invaluable during this difficult time.
I wanted them to be in this picture, and they wanted to be there themselves. Sean made an extraordinary effort to make the time to stand in the light with their old friend and neighbor. The smiles on their faces speak candidly about what they were feeing during this moment of triumph and community.
Joe DeVizia and I were high school friends. We grew up together. We played baseball together. We went to 
college together. Our mentor, advisor and life coach was Sister Mary Hillary, and we always have been proud to be known as Hillary’s boys.
If ever there was a model of goodness and spirituality, it is Joe Devizia. His visits, conversations and e-mails gave me a feeling of peace and belonging that I have seldom experienced.
Joe Devizia is what Hillary taught. He is the living legacy of the Mystical Body of Christ. He sees Christ in everyone, and he brings Christ to everyone…not in words…not in laws…not in structures, but in deeds.
Joe is a living example of what really is important in life. I was blessed to have him in my hospital room and I am blessed to have him in my life. Without Joe Devizia, this picture would have been incomplete.
So there we stood on that grassy knoll. Seven adults grinning from ear to ear singing a song of life that had no words just actions. Yes, acts of friendship, acts of caring, acts of encouragement, acts of compassion, understanding, hope, and generosity of spirit.
The road to this moment was not without apprehension, fear, discomfort, pain, and suffering. It was, however, a road of transformation, discovery and understanding that led to a new life with a new attitude. It was a road paved with good deeds and good thoughts.
It is a road without an ending, because it will always be alive in my heart and soul.
This was the ultimate teaching moment, not because of anything that was said, but because of so much that was done. It was a moment of joy that was best described when Helen Keller wrote these words:
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”
Thank You Dr. Harostock.
Thank You Dr. Fath.
.
Thank You Dr.Slovoski.
Thank You Dr. Decker.
Thank You Sean and Tom McGrath.
Thank You Joe DeVizia.
Thank You Beverly.
Thank You Kitch.
Thank You Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for 20 years of excellent cardiac care
