{"id":9632,"date":"2023-08-14T17:20:52","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T00:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?page_id=9632"},"modified":"2024-12-18T14:25:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T22:25:48","slug":"inspiration","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/about-samaritan\/together\/inspiration\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Inspiration Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Building Inspiration Together – Randall's Story<\/h1>\n\t\t\t
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\u201cLet\u2019s fix it, I\u2019ve got people who care about me and who I care about.
I want to be around at least into my late 90s.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Randall Milstein<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Renaissance Man Revels in Recovery <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Getting to know Randall Milstein, you might be surprised as conversation reveals a wide variety of vocations, passions and talents \u2013 so many that you may wonder, how does he do it all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is an Oregon State University instructor in the Physics Department, the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and the University Honors College, and is the Astronomer in Residence for the NASA Oregon Space Grant Consortium. The OSU website lists his technical specialties as planetary astronomy, stratigraphy, geophysics, subsurface mapping, scientific communications and photography, and that seems to be just scratching the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was highly sought after for scientific presentations on the solar eclipse of 2017. He is popular among students and science fiction buffs for his presentations on Star Trek and Star Wars and the visions for society each fandom embraces.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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He is a respected professional photographer of modern dance and ballet and \u2013 in line with his interest in science fiction \u2013 portraits of costumed characters known as cosplayers at Comic Con conventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dedicated athlete, he has decades of baseball, competitive running, biking, swimming and other sports under his belt, including many years taking part in the Scottish Highland Games. He is a dancer with Corvallis\u2019 Regional School of Ballet and has danced in their production of The Nutcracker 19 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list, literally, goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was raised in a family that really prized education and multidimensionality,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the winter of 2018-2019, he found another thing he was good at, though not by choice. He has excelled at recovering from open heart surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That November, walking around campus and carrying a backpack, he started having intense pain in his shoulder and back.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe recovery is tough, but it\u2019s better than option B \u2013 
  I\u2019ve got stuff to do.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Randall Milstein<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve had broken ribs multiple times, so I figured that was acting up,\u201d Milstein said. \u201cIt got so bad, I couldn\u2019t carry the backpack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he went to the urgent care, the doctor saw in his electronic medical record that he\u2019d had a stent put in, in 2012 when a ruptured artery was discovered when he\u2019d been training for a race. The urgent care doctor sent Milstein to the cardiac catheterization lab at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center where he had an imaging procedure done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey told me my stent had scarred almost completely shut,\u201d said Milstein. \u201cThere was only 2% blood flow through the artery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milstein met with Edward Bender, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Samaritan Heart Center who came to Corvallis through a partnership with Stanford Health Care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis kind of scarring or in-stent blockage can occur in about 5 out of 100 people over five years after the stent is placed\u201d said Dr. Bender. \u201cFor all his activity, Randy has a heart like a brick fortress, he just had a bad piece of plumbing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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The bad plumbing required a double bypass, and Milstein did not think twice about the surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s fix it,\u201d said Milstein. \u201cI\u2019ve got people who care about me and who I care about. I want to be around at least into my late 90s like everybody in my family, and Dr. Bender said \u2018Well, let\u2019s get you to 90.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As fit as he was, recovery was still a challenge, but Milstein was determined to get better as quickly as possible. His surgery occurred a couple of weeks before final exams at OSU, and he wanted to be there for his students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe recovery is tough, but it\u2019s better than option B,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got stuff to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, while he began his recovery at the home of his sister, Sheila Johnson, he had a strong support network of family, friends and colleagues to help him recover and help keep things on track at OSU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe had a steady stream of friends and work colleagues who would come by almost every day and sit and chat,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI know it meant so much to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stayed with his sister for five weeks, spending a lot of time on the couch with her cat, Hoopdie. He did not want to take pain medications, other than Tylenol.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAll of a sudden, you\u2019re back to where you should be and you\u2019re saying, \u2018Holy moly! It\u2019s like somebody put a new engine in!\u2019 \u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Randall Milstein<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cNot moving is what I did,\u201d he explained. \u201cI would just go into something like a yoga state, just not move, except my finger to turn a page of a book.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He would stay like that for hours at a time, with Hoopdie laying across his lap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo have my sister\u2019s care and the company of her cat was incredible,\u201d Milstein said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A little less than three weeks after his surgery, he made it to his students\u2019 final exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was barely able to move, but I got there, just to assure them I was OK,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he started cardiac rehabilitation at Good Sam his recovery went well because he had been pretty fit to start with. He regained his strength and lost 35 pounds, and credits the discipline he\u2019s developed as a scientist, competitive athlete and dancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe really worked hard,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI was very proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milstein points out that with cardiac rehab, you might end up feeling even better than before.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cYou\u2019re going to learn you have a new 100%,\u201d said Milstein. \u201cYou thought you were at 100% before, but you weren\u2019t. All of a sudden, you\u2019re back to where you should be and you\u2019re saying \u2018Holy moly! It\u2019s like somebody put a new engine in!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He finished cardiac rehab just as the spring weather started getting nice enough to start exercising outside. He walks 7 to 10 miles every day, and also goes to the gym where he rides a stationary bike and lifts weights. His healthy habits include watching what he eats \u2013 lots of vegetables, fruit, poultry, salmon, eggs just once a week \u2013 and eating smaller portions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRather than eat a whole sandwich, I eat a half a sandwich,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milstein hopes his experience will inspire people to pay attention to how they are feeling and to gradual changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my case, there was no signal,\u201d he said. \u201cI was not symptomatic \u2013 no pain, no palpitations. If you think you\u2019re slowing down, or if you think something\u2019s not quite right, the biggest thing is to let other people know. Your mind or your body is giving you subtle clues that you might want to go get checked out. I thought I was just getting old and running down, but I really wasn\u2019t. I am still as lively as ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Gallery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following successful recovery from open-heart surgery, Randall Milstein has continued to enjoy a wide variety of vocations, passions and talents. Click on the photos to enlarge them and learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Milstein moved to Corvallis in 1989 to pursue his PhD in geology at OSU. \u201cIt was the perfect fit and I never left,\u201d he said.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cHaving the scientific understanding of what goes into an art form allows you to interpret it differently,\u201d said Milstein of his photography of ballet and modern dance. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Randall
Milstein recovered from open heart surgery at the home of his sister Sheila Johnson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Milstein photographs portraits of cos-players at large ComicCon events. \u201cTheir costuming is beautiful and quite wonderful.\u201d <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Milstein has danced in Corvallis\u2019 Regional production of the Nutcracker for 20 years.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Randall
Milstein is the Astronomer in Residence for the NASA Oregon Space Grant Consortium. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Randall
\u201cI\u2019ve got people who care about me and who I care about. I want to be around at least into my late 90s like everybody in my family.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Randall
\u201cI\u2019m so thankful for the conscientious care I received from the physicians, surgeons, nurses and rehab therapists.\u201d <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n
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Know Your Heart Risks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Age, family history, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes and weight are heart disease risk factors. You can take a quick heart disease risk assessment to better understand your risk factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Take Heart Risk Assessment<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Heart Care Takes Teamwork<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your body is complex and when a heart issue occurs, it takes a team of professionals working for you to help you get better. Heart surgeon Edward Bender, MD<\/a>, and Cardiologist Matthew Lindberg, MD<\/a>, share the importance of patient-centered care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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