I worked in a number of Cardiac ICU's over the years and saw a lot of people getting coromary bypass surgery. It certainly can be a life-saving procedure, but not always, and some poor souls will have their grafts reocclude in a short time and may opt for a repeat surgery. I recall a few men who had it done 3 separate times; I guess they had generous insurance providers.

A Fish Lovers Dream

Chest crushing pain
And diaphoresis,
A flash on her life
And a vision of Jesus,
It must be a heart attack
Claiming another,
A lot of things hurt
But this one's a mother.

It blasted away
At her cardiac tissue,
Now here come the surgeons
With their government issue,
Rebuilt and sanitized
Almost new heart,
Guaranteed to deliver
A fresh, wholesome start.

Oh, isn't technology
A fish lovers dream,
If something is busted
There is always a scheme,
To promise results
So remotely obscure,
The public believes
They are buying a cure.

Saphenous vein grafts
To restore circulation,
The business is booming
In this heart attack nation,
With repeat offenders
Lining up at the door,
Expecting their doctors
To do it some more.

Fibril_late; 10/93