After a tough two days of branding and rounding cattle on his Benson ranch, Larry Dempster had a strange experience.

It was an episode that ended with a diagnosis of heart attack and stroke at Benson Hospital, and a quadruple bypass surgery at Tucson Medical Center.

Dempster, 78, grew up in Benson and is deeply rooted in the community there. He is s a city councilman, rancher and owner of three other businesses – an ice cream shop, flower shop and western gift store. 

“A big part of my life has been on the ranch,” Dempster said. “I like watching the calves grow. That’s the easy part. The hard part is fixing the fence, branding and gathering. I had a heart attack while doing that.”

Dempster said he didn’t experience any of the typical heart attack symptoms such as pain in the left arm. He found out later that’s pretty normal for those over the age of 75.

He only knew something was wrong when he was trying to pay the cowboys he worked with.

“I had about 10 cowboys branding and stuff and as I was paying them, I started dropping $50 bills,” Dempster said. “Cowboys were on the ground chasing their pay and I didn’t think that was quite right.”

His wife told him he needed to go to the Emergency Department at Benson Hospital. But, Dempster had other plans – a nap.

“I said I’m just tired. I want to take a nap.” Dempster said. “She ended up calling the emergency room behind my back and was told to bring me in. So she told me she needed to go into town and wanted me to go with her. Next thing I knew we were at the Emergency Department and I was in a hospital gown.”

Now he’s grateful for his wife’s quick thinking and the medical teams at Benson Hospital and Tucson Medical Center.

It turns out Dempster was in the middle of a heart attack that also caused a mini-stroke.

“A 15-year-old doctor said I had a heart attack,” Dempster joked. “He didn’t look old enough to be through medical school. He had a pretty good sense of humor, fortunately. So, he put me in the ambulance and I was on my way to Tucson Medical Center.”

At TMC, Dempster met with a team of doctors specializing in heart attack and stroke. He learned he would need a quadruple bypass surgery to remove blockages from his heart. But, not until he healed from the stroke.

“We worked as a team,” said Dr. David Teeple, medical director of TMC’s stroke program. “Working with Dr. Bose and Dr. Waggoner, we devised a careful plan to address Mr. Dempster’s stroke and provide the life-saving bypass surgery he required.”

“We waited about three weeks for the surgery at TMC,” Dempster said. “They sent me home. It must have been right because it worked out and I’m still here.”

Now, Dempster is working to rebuild his stamina, but says he’s feeling great, thanks to Dr. Teeple, Dr. Bose and Dr. Waggoner.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Dempster said. “I’m going to therapy at TMC Cardiac Rehab and they’re taking good care of me.”

February is Heart Month and we have a host of events across Southern Arizona to inform, educate and create awareness on technologies, lifestyles, screenings and other matters of the heart. Go here to find heart-related events near you, downloadable resources and TMC heart services.