Headline News

Medical  Report

Berwyn, Illinois, USA

Erickson’s Chief of Staff Hospitalized

            Joseph “Joe” Cocker, the controversial and legendary political operative, former campaign manager and now Alderman Joel Erickson’s Chief Of Staff was hospitalized last week for a heart condition.

            The condition was discovered during his regular health exam which included a heartworm
test and various inoculations.  Cocker’s primary physician, Dr. Richard Velders of the Burr Ridge Animal Hospital, discovered an irregular heart beat during the examination and recommended an
EKG and echocardiogram to determine the seriousness of the condition.

            “My wife and I had noticed that Joe seemed a little lethargic of late”, Erickson told reporters
in a phone interview.  “At first we attributed his slower pace to the aging process but decided to have his physician take a closer look”.  Cocker who is 13 years old (which means he would be 85 years
old if he were a human being) also has a condition known as osteoarthritis. 

            The echocardiogram revealed a slight enlargement of the heart but within normal limits for
Mr. Cocker’s age and ethnicity.   However, the EKG revealed an extremely unusual rhythm pattern.  The decision was made to have the condition analyzed by the cardiologists at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. 

            The rhythm of the heart in both humans and animals emanates from a bundle of nerve fibers on the surface of the heart.  This nerve bundle sends a chemical-electrical charge to the top and bottom of the heart and causes the heart muscles to contract creating the “heartbeat”.  If this bundle
of nerves begins to send random (rather than regular) signals to the heart, the heart beats irregularly and moves blood throughout the body inefficiently.

            When this happens, the individual does not get enough oxygen to feed the cells of his body and therefore feels weak.  Long term irregularity in a heart rate will cause the heart to beat faster and harder in a vain attempt to deliver more blood to the body.  This causes the muscles of the heart to enlarge so that the heart no longer looks “heart-shaped” but assumes a round or “apple-shaped” contour. 

            This apple shape is an indicator of serious heart problems.  Its presence indicates that the heart is overworked and, if it continues, the heart may fail (cardiac arrest) or become so irregular that the individual collapses from lack of oxygen to his tissues.

            Erickson said that, “If the cardiac specialists at the Animal Medical Center in New York City determine that the abnormal rhythm is life threatening, we could either address the condition with medications or have the surgeons implant a pacemaker”.

            The prescribed heart medication would regulate the nerve bundle and additional medication would be prescribed to help the heart beat more efficiently. 

            The pacemaker, a small electrical devise implanted under the skin, has wires that travel to the nerve bundle on the heart.  The pacemaker would take over the electrical impulse of the nerve bundle and allow the heart to beat in a normal rhythm. 

            “If the pacemaker turns out to be the better choice, a team of cardiac specialists at the Animal Medical Center would implant the pacemaker”, Erickson said.  The pacemakers implanted in dogs are recycled human infant pacemakers which accommodate the small body of a dog.

            Mr. Cocker, who was the target of widespread criticism surrounding his endorsement of Erickson during the campaign of 2005, is said to be in stable condition.  Erickson was accused of "nepotism and deal making" by his opponents when he named "Joe" Cocker his campaign manager.

    "Those were difficult times for me and Joe", Erickson recalls.  We had a lot of ideas and plans to improve the quality of life for Berwyn residents and we wanted to have a chance to present those ideas and plans for consideration within city government.  Fortunately Joe's deep background and experience with grass roots neighborhood politics gave me the strength to go forward and eventually succeed in a very close race against a professional political opponent", Erickson said.  

 

 

    

 

The Alderman’s office said that additional information would be released about his
Chief of Staff’s condition as information becomes available.