ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - When James Van Bakel began participating in the Cardiac Rehab program at Alaska Regional Hospital, he had one goal he was working towards.
“The goal was I needed to be able to go moose hunting and haul off the moose by myself,” Van Bakel said.
In May 2021, Van Bakel was grocery shopping when he started feeling sick. After his conditions did not improve once he left the grocery store, he called for help. Van Bakel learned a short while later at the hospital that he would require a stent due to a nearly complete blockage of his left anterior descending artery in his heart.