D. Scott Fritchen grateful for community after a serious cardiac incident
By Tim Schrag '12
A heart pillow is now a constant companion for D. Scott Fritchen ’99. It provides comfort and is a constant reminder of what he went through this past summer.
Fritchen survived an aortic dissection, a tear in the innermost layer of his aorta. The survival rate is low.
“I'm a miracle, and I'm so grateful for that every day,” he said. “And I'm excited for my second life.”
On July 10 Fritchen had trouble breathing but didn’t think much of it. By July 13 he could barely breathe at all.
“It felt like someone was hitting me in the chest repeatedly with a baseball bat,” he said.
Something was wrong. He called his father, Dave Fritchen ’71, and told him he needed to go to the ER.
“They wanted a CT scan and the worker there, after he took the scans, gave me a hug and wished me luck. And then I saw through the glass, a lady looking at the computer monitor and she had tears in her eyes. So, I figured that wasn't good,” he said.
Shortly thereafter Fritchen was getting prepped for a helicopter flight to Kansas City for immediate medical intervention. He woke up four days later.
Fritchen said after waking up he learned about what happened – to mend his heart a surgeon needed to remove it and make the repair.
“For 6 minutes there, my heart was on a tray,” he said. “And it wasn't beating. I was dead for 6 minutes.”
He would stay in the hospital for eight days. During that time, he heard from many members of the K-State community including football coach Collin Klein ’11, ’19; K-State ring of honor member Michael Bishop ’11; K-State color analyst Stan Weber ’84, ’85; K-State President Richard Linton; and many others. Every day since July 13, Matt Wells former football offensive coordinator has texted Fritchen a prayer emoji to let him know he was thinking of, praying for and supporting him.
“It's just amazing, the support of K-Staters,” Fritchen said. “It's absolutely tremendous, and it just reinforces a lot of what we've known all along. That K-Staters are very special people. They care about each other, and that means a lot.”
His surgeon, Dr. Casey Hertzenberg ’04, was one of 17 surgeons on call that day. The surgery was complex and delicate. Fritchen said Hertzenberg was the only one willing to take on the challenge. Fritchen stays in regular contact with Hertzenberg and was able to connect with him at the first home football game.
“I took him on a tour of the press box,” Fritchen said. “I told Casey since I have seen where you work, I want you to see where I work.”
Many things about Fritchen’s life have changed as a result of this medical incident. He now takes 18 different types of medicine. He needs to spend more time lying down.
Nevertheless, some things haven’t changed. He still has a cup of coffee a day. He still enjoys writing about K-State sports as the creative writing and content specialist for the athletic department. He still produces K-State Sports Extra, a newsletter designed specifically for Wildcat fans across all varsity sports. It currently has more than 60,000 subscribers.
Fritchen has covered the Wildcats for 33 seasons and was medically cleared to begin working again just in time for the first home football game.
“I was overcome with emotion because of what Kansas State University, K-State football and K-State athletics means to me on my first week back,” he said. “I have a family, a really great family that believes in me. I don't want to let them down. Knowing that I'm still healthy enough to do what I love, which is writing about Kansas State, I haven’t lost sight of that.”