Photo By Staff Sgt. Luke Koladish | Col. Michael P. Courts stands outside Al-Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Baghdad. The West...... read more read more
BAGHDAD - Col. Michael P. Courts, of DuPont, Wash., was getting ready to squat 400 pounds on Jan. 27, 2003, when he felt something go wrong at the Carlisle Barracks gymnasium in Pennsylvania.
"I took a deep breath getting ready to lift when I felt a twinge in my chest," Courts recalled.
At 6:02 pm a lipid build-up had ruptured his left anterior descending coronary artery resulting in a massive heart attack commonly referred to as a "widow maker" because of its high fatality rate.
Courts cut short his workout and started walking back home through the drifts of snow.
By the time he got home both his hands had become numb, his face had turned grey and cold to the touch.
"It felt like a road flare going off in the middle of my chest," Courts said. "I turned to my wife and she said to me, 'You're having a heart attack.' ''
Courts swallowed some aspirin and his wife called 911. An ambulance took him to the Carlisle emergency room. The medication they gave him to clear a clot did not work so they moved him to a hospital in Harrisburg. He had two titanium stints inserted into his artery.
As Courts lay in the hospital bed that night he began suffering congestive heart failure, a condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to the organs.
Throughout the night doctors worked to keep his heart pumping.
"It makes you change your priorities some. I still love being a soldier, but I realize every day since then is a gift, the fact that I am alive is a miracle."
Even though he survived, his future in the Army was in jeopardy.
At the time of his heart attack Courts was a student at the Army War College. He was on the promotion list for colonel and preparing to take command of the 21st Cavalry Brigade that April. "Commander of an attack helicopter brigade was what I wanted, it was going to be the high point of my career," the West Point graduate said.
After the heart attack he was no longer eligible for the brigade command, lost his flight status and was facing a medical discharge from the army.
"The Army's senior cardiologist said he had never seen someone survive what I had been through," remarked Courts.
He fought the Army's efforts to discharge him and leaned on general officers to allow him to continue to serve. They agreed and returned him to the Army War College first as a student, then as part of the faculty.
"The put me there so I could take it easy and recover, I was surrounded by a lot of good people and a lot of good care from the Army."
Courts said he has never fully recovered from the heart attack.
"I take a slew of medications that cause weight gain, I lost of a third of my heart that's now scar tissue, but through exercise and diet I have compensated for some of it," Courts said.
"And I'm still deployable," he added, sitting in his office at Al-Faw Palace, Baghdad.
He can still pass the Army Physical Fitness Test, including the run. He exercises five days a week and can still ski double black diamonds.
"It has made me appreciate my family more, made me aware of other people's limitations. I was a great runner before the attack, now I am not, but I can compensate for that.
"Likewise, I know that Soldiers who may not perform well in one area excel in others."
After his tour at the War College he became the commander of 3rd Brigade, 75th Division (Training Support) at Fort Riley, Kan.
"It's not a glamorous sounding job, and certainly nothing I would have applied for before my attack, but you know what, it ended up being the best job I ever had."
Courts oversaw the training and support of 12,000 Reservist and National Guardsmen that answered the call to duty.
"Boy did I gain a new appreciation for them," explained Courts. "There is no way we could be here without them; the active duty just isn't able to handle this on their own."
After his brigade command, he deployed for the third time in his career. He served as Chief, Engagements Branch, Strategic Effects Directorate, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, Baghdad.
Back stateside he returned to the starting point of his career, Fort Lewis. He became I Corps Deputy Chief of Staff in December 2008.
Lt. Col. Martin Partridge, MNC-I secretary of the Combined Joint Staff, first met Courts when he arrived at Fort Lewis that same month.
"He came across as friendly and was concerned about the welfare of my family and that we were settled in and ready before I started working," Partridge said.
Courts arrived in Iraq in March and began working as the MNC-I deputy chief of staff.
His previous experience as the 1st Infantry Division chief of staff is a great advantage because he understands the roles and responsibilities of the chief, which reduces the burden on the MNC-I chief and helps the staff added Partridge.
"We have invested the coin of our country and the blood of our young men and women. Not only have we ended the rule of the most despotic dictator in the last 50 years, but we are going to leave this place better than it was, and I am proud to be a part of that mission," said Courts.
| Date Taken: | 07.21.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 07.21.2009 04:03 |
| Story ID: | 36600 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 1,355 |
| Downloads: | 1,168 |
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