Heart attack leads to unexpected gift

Larry Schmitz’s first cardiac episode was on a golf course. It was 1982, and he began experiencing chest pain near the end of a round of 18 holes. He finished the 18th hole and drove himself to Unity Hospital where it was confirmed that his discomfort was due to a heart attack, affecting 15 percent of his heart. He was treated with medication rather than surgery. Even so, the incident was still life changing. His doctor told him he would have to retire.

During a week-long hospital stay, one of his Schmitz’s few diversions was to watch television. He became intrigued with a program starring Bill Alexander, the now deceased artist who shared his artistic techniques with viewers on public television.

Facing a retirement that stretched ahead of him like a vast wasteland, Schmitz knew he had to do something. He recalled a Christmas in 1960 when his daughter had given him a set of oil paints. When his six children were small, Schmitz would draw pictures with them on an Etch A Sketch. His daughter was so impressed with his drawing skills that she felt compelled to give him another medium for his creativity. “She said if I could make pictures like that on the Etch A Sketch, imagine what my pictures would be like if I painted them.”

When he came home from the hospital he unearthed the paints and began what was to be the fruition of an unexpected gift. More than 100 paintings later, he continues to paint pictures to sell, give and keep.

Schmitz likes to stay busy. “I started painting because otherwise I’d be bored, and boredom can do a lot of harm,” he said.

A strong proponent of exercise, Schmitz is in phase 4 of cardiac rehabilitation following a 1996 quintuple bypass surgery. Schmitz has cardiac rehab at Unity Hospital three times a week. “I walk a mile at rehab before I start exercising. Then I exercise an hour after that.” The 81-year old says he no longer has any aches or pains and credits a lot of that to rehab. He still golfs once or twice a week in the summer. “I just can’t see sitting around doing nothing. I feel better now than I did at 60, he added.

His paintings are a beautiful byproduct of an encounter with a life-altering condition. If he had never been a cardiac patient, he may have never started painting, and that would be a loss for many people who are privileged to view his work.

Schmitz is a member of a cardiac rehab club made up of craftsmen and artisans who periodically display their works at Unity Hospital in Fridley.