TV personality David Letterman and I have something very much in common.
It isn’t our gift of gab or quirky sense of humor. He’s got me beat in that department. Nor is it our trite dress code. He’d blow me away.
We both had the same heart surgeon.
The guy who conducted his by-pass surgery in 2000 also performed a triple on me June 1. His name is Dr. Robert Helm and he’s the specialist you’d want in your corner when it comes to the heart.
And just to prove it, he gave me a most provocative gift upon my discharge—one of Letterman’s signature jackets.
“I have a closet full of them,” he told me. “Would you like one?
Why wouldn’t I? If anything, it would make for an ideal conversation piece, maybe even a column like this.
It seems the iconic talk-show host has so much appreciation for what this surgeon did to save his life that he sends along a jacket and a choice bottle of champagne on the anniversary of his surgery each year as a gesture of gratitude.
In case you’re unaware, Letterman owns and operates a very successful entity called Worldwide Pants Incorporated, an
American and film production company headquartered in New York City.
The jacket I now own happens to be a red and white blazer that fits as snug as a bug in the rug. My surgeon’s reputation preceded the operation. Not that he was willing to broadcast it. Word gets around, especially at Portsmouth (N.H.) Regional Hospital where he now works.
What was more evident with the good doctor was his affinity toward community hospitals as opposed to the more eminent places. In his opinion—and I respect it—regional hospitals can hold their own with any big name institutions.
Letterman went in for a routine check-up that year and discovered an artery severely constricted. He was rushed to emergency for a quintuple by-pass.
Upon his return to the show five weeks later, he brought on stage all the doctors and nurses who had participated in his surgery and recovery, with extra teasing of a nurse who had given him bed baths and “seen me naked.”
Letterman was in tears as he thanked Dr. Helm and the health care team with the words, “These are the people who saved my life and can now be counted as my best friends.”
Though I’m far from Letterman’s status, I can vouch for the same treatment. Letterman even lobbied his home state of Indiana to rename the freeway circling Indianapolis “The David Letterman By-Pass.”
I found the good Dr. Helm to be pretty low-key about his fame—a natural guy with all the natural instincts. He happens to be a history buff who wanted to know my feelings about the Armenian Genocide and why the American government hasn’t recognized it nearly 100 years later.
On a free day, you’ll catch him surfing the waves at Rye, N.H., where he resides, and not letting his practice interfere with family life. We had a chance to chat about Letterman during one of his follow-up visits.
“Famous or ordinary, I treat each patient the same—with utmost care,” he admitted matter-of-factly. “I had heart surgery to perform and it didn’t matter if the name was Letterman or Vartabedian. To me, they represent the precious gift of life and my role is to preserve that.”
If anything, it brought me a sense of calm as I was being wheeled on a gurney.
The affable surgeon said he still looks back fondly at a surgery that allowed him to see the softer side of Letterman, who he described as one of the nicest people he has ever met.
At the time, Dr. Helm was working as a chief fellow under Dr. Wayne Isom, head of cardiothoracic surgery at New York’s Cornell Medical Center. He was living in New York and finishing a cardiac fellowship that saw him working on patients that sometimes included celebrities.
Dr. Helm said he was responsible for assisting a team of surgeons and for much of the patient care that followed.
My very last contact with Dr. Helm came my final day at Portsmouth Regional when he handed me Letterman’s jacket, just the way he had promised. A telephone call to his home the night before served as a reminder, though it proved unnecessary. He had already taken the jacket out of his closet, ready for delivery.
Now that I have Letterman’s jacket, I suppose I can start a TV show of my own or simply wear it around when the weather is right.
What’s good for Letterman is certainly good for me.
Tom Vartabedian
Latest posts by Tom Vartabedian (see all)
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So far, this only aticle I wasted my time reading it. It shouldn’t be appeared on the front page of Armenian Weekly. There is nothing for Armenians in this article.
have open heart surgery and you might have a change of heart and mind, and you can count your blessings otherwise…
Hey Papken, have a heart!
I actually liked the article. When one goes through such an ordeal, it is human to feel and express himself the way Tom does. We are all made of flesh and feelings, it doesn’t matter that he didn’t write something about Armenians at this time, and plus he is Armenian, isn’t he? and he is writing about his own experiences. Dear Tom, you have every right to express your gratitude towards your wonderful doctor and your individual thoughts, I respect them and I like to read your columns, you put so much humility into it, it’s refreshing.
Many who had open Heart Surgery
and recovered well
They like to fall in love once again
and some they get married as their religion allows them
Like the Beduins
In conclusion…
Their heart and mind changes…
No body studied yet…
Probably new vessels from the ‘Saphenous Vein’ of the legs
Or ‘Internal Mammary’ branch from artery of the arm
Releasing New Hormones…? must be the Love Hormones
I think new operations where inducing “many stents”,
And without lancing the chest
Will not lead the same situation…
Because no veins or arteries implanted on the heart…!
_________________
Reference…”Lance my Hart (heart) at a Glance, 2007″
Sylva-MD-Poetry
My family has suffered the trauma and stress of both open heart surgery and cancer. Anything that gives encouragement to others is deeply appreciated by me. I am glad Letterman survived and I am elated that our ace reporter Tom Vartabedian too will recover to go on and on. If you ever have to wait hours in a waiting room til your loved one is announced out of danger then you know the importance of knowing there are doctors in New Hampshire or Michigan who someday you may want to have do surgery on you too. They don’t come more Armenian than Tom. Have a great convalescence, buddy.