When excruciating chest pain woke WJJQ radio station owner Gregg Albert at 1 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2008, he had the feeling his heart was in trouble.

In a matter of hours it would be Super Bowl Sunday and the Tomahawk resident was looking forward to spending the day watching the game, so he was pretty irritated that he was in so much pain. He woke his wife, Margie, and told her what was happening. After trying a couple of things to alleviate the pain, they decided they needed to get to nearby Sacred Heart Hospital. When Gregg arrived, his Ministry Medical Group primary care physician, Ronald Cortte, MD - who just happened to be on call in the emergency department that morning - met him.

"I was more than a little concerned," said Gregg, "but knew as soon as we got to the hospital I would be in good hands."

Dr. Cortte ordered an electrocardiogram (EKG) and blood work to determine if Gregg was having a heart attack. He was also given nitroglycerin. But the crushing pain continued. Dr. Cortte told Gregg that he wasn't experiencing a heart attack right then, but that there was blockage in his heart that was causing his pain and he was going to need surgery.

"When Dr. Cortte asked me where I wanted to have my heart surgery it was an easy choice," said Gregg. "I wanted to stay within the Ministry Health Care system and go to Saint Clare's in Weston."

An ambulance was called to transfer Gregg to Saint Clare's, while Dr. Cortte called ahead to let the hospital know Gregg was on his way.

"Everything happened so quickly," said Gregg. "Even though I was in a lot of pain, I wasn't anxious about what was happening to me. A good friend of mine, emergency medical technician Steve Taskay, was working that morning and rode in the ambulance with me. He'd gone through a heart attack and was wonderful about explaining exactly what could be happening to me."

When Gregg arrived at Saint Clare's in Weston, his care by members of the Marshfield Clinic/Ministry Health Care Heart Care Team continued. Marshfield Clinic cardiologist Richard Reinhart, MD met him and immediately ordered another EKG, which determined that Gregg had in fact suffered a heart attack-probably while being transferred in the ambulance. The heart surgery team was called in and Gregg was in surgery within the hour.

"I had one stent put in to open my blocked artery, but when the surgeon asked how I was doing after I woke up I had to tell him I was still experiencing pain," said Gregg. "Dr. Reinhart and my surgeon determined that something was still restricting the flow of blood to my heart, so the heart surgery team was called back to put in a second stent. After my second surgery I couldn't believe how great I felt."

Gregg spent three days at Saint Claire's recovering from surgery and learning what he needed to do to prevent another heart attack.

When he returned home, he was able to go to rehabilitation close to home at Sacred Heart Hospital.

"My therapist worked with me to create a plan that I followed religiously three days a week, for 36 weeks," said Gregg. "She worked as a mediator between Dr. Reinhart at Saint Clare's and the nurse practitioner at Sacred Heart to regulate my medications when I started feeling a little woozy - something I never would have thought about doing.

"She even brought a dietitian and a pharmacist in to educate everyone in the program about the importance of staying on top of our diets and medications. I've lost 40 pounds since my surgery."

Today, you'll find Gregg at WJJQ, out volunteering in the community he loves and spending as much time as he can with his grandchildren.