SEBASTIAN — John Truckner thought he was dealing with a bad case of heartburn. For two days, the 62-year-old retired mailman and owner of Indian River Bee Company and Summit Diner in Micco tried to work through it.
He nearly kept going. Then he remembered a friend’s father who died after similar symptoms. On his way to work, Truckner stopped at Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital instead.
That choice likely saved his life.
Within minutes of arriving, emergency room staff evaluated him and rushed him to the cardiac catheterization lab. Doctors found a 99% blockage in his left anterior descending artery — the vessel often called the “widowmaker.”
He received an emergency stent. Days later, physicians performed a second procedure after finding evidence he may have already suffered multiple heart attacks.
Truckner credits the rapid coordination among ER physician Dr. Joseph Polakoski, interventional cardiologist Dr. Charles Croft, and the hospital’s cath lab team.
“I drive by the hospital every day and it still feels like a dream,” Truckner said. “Everything happened so fast, and they saved my life.”
He hopes his story pushes others in the community to take even mild symptoms seriously and get checked without delay.
“This is our community hospital, and they were there when I needed them most,” he said.
