It’s no surprise that half a dozen people sent me a link the Matt Richtel’s New York Times Article (login required) about the stresses of blogging and the toll it takes on one’s health. To his credit, Matt did attempt to reach me, however phone tag and deadlines precluded our having a discussion save the one we had with one another’s answering machines.

It’s too bad. I would have added a certain amount of balance to his story - balance that I think, in the grand scheme of things was badly needed. Why? Because much as people would like to blame blogging and the strains and stresses therefrom as the culprit’s behind Om Malik’s heart attack, Russel Shaw’s fatal heat attack, or even the death (again due to heart attack) of my dear friend, Marc Orchant.

In all three cases, as well as several other examples, blogging was implicated as a singular stressor that in and of itself was responsible for everything from Mike Arrington’s 30 pound weight gain and sleeping disorder to Marc’s cardiac arrest early one December morning. The thing is, we’re talking about a couple of instances out of a group that now numbers well into the millions.

If you look on Technorati or Bloglines, or Google Reader, you can see that there are literally hundreds of millions of blogs. This means at a minimum there are millions of bloggers - so even if only a very small percentage of them blog seriously, it’s still a big number. A big enough number, in fact, that it is likely to statistically mirror the greater population at large. This means, that, as in any large group, there are going to be a few people that pass away and some of those or likely to pass from heart attacks as they are among the biggest killers of mature men and women in the US.

Personally, I see this less as a statistic that relates to blogging and more one that relates to pre-emptive care, regular checkups and healthy living. I know/knew all three individuals (four if you count Arrington) that were the subjects of the New York Times article and I can tell you with certainty that it wasn’t the blogging that these individuals did that resulted in their particular personal crises.

Marc, it turned out was suffering from about a 75% occlusion of the major arteries feeding his heart. 75%! It is amazing in retrospect that he was so energetic and robust and the sad part is that had this man, who was so concerned about being on top of so many aspects of his own life had taken a couple hours out of that busy schedule to get a regular check up his doctor would have almost certainly discovered this health emergency and ordered immediate action to prevent what was, ultimately, the inevitable outcome of this condition left untreated.

In Marc’s case I do believe that stress - but not stress directly from blogging - was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Namely that Marc was growing progressively more distraught over the games that Sam Sethi was playing with Marc’s money - that is the money Sam was contractually obligated to pay Marc and which he had lied about having, had lied about raising from investors, and had lied to us when he said it was already in the bank; which was, in both Marc’s case and my own, one of the main inducements to join his company.

My association with Marc was only for the last two years but in that time we spent a tremendous amount of time together. To understand Marc’s demeanor, the easiest way to explain it (at least to those that know me) would be to say imagine me, now imagine someone exactly the opposite. I used to say before big meetings that my job was to make people nervous while Marc’s was to calm them back down. It seemed to work well.

My point is that Marc was as even tempered as I am mercurial. The guy was quintessentially cool headed in the way that great martial artists are cool headed. He was the rock for a lot of people, myself included. Thus, during my last visit, seeing him lose his temper a couple of times over just a few days - and over traffic of all things - was quite surprising and said to me “wow - this guy is under a lot of stress. Since I’ve already said it several times I won’t bother to say again just what that stress was…

As for Om, I don’t know him the way I knew Marc, but I knew his reputation and I think it was obvious to a lot of people that physical fitness wasn’t at the top of his list of priority items. In fact, I think this holds true for all the folks mentioned in the New York Times piece. This problem is not the sole providence of bloggers. It should be a wake up call to anyone, though, who spends 8 to 10 hours in front of a computer, takes the elevator down 3 floors to the garage, hops in their car, hits the drive through on the way how and then spends three hours wearing the hair off the back of their head kicking back in their Lazy Boy before toddling off to bed with a bowl of ice-cream.

Seriously. This is not a blogging issue; this is an America is going soft issue - and I’m sure that the rate of serious health emergencies is just as bad or even worse across many professions. Moreover, while there are times when bloggers work odd hours there are very, very few that force upon themselves the sort of self-flagellation that characterized Mike Arrington’s early TechCrunch efforts let alone the lifestyle attributed to Matt Buchanen.

At the end of the day, the deaths of Marc and Russell and the near death of Om Malik are personal tragedies comprised of equal parts lack of concern for one’s health and the misfortune of a deadly genetic predisposition, they are not, as the article in the Times postulates, occupational hazards. In other words, I don’t blame blogging one bit for Marc’s death, however, Sam Sethi is another story…

Getting Things Done was Marc Orchant’s passion.  Exceeded only by his love for his family and his sheer joy in teaching others.  Editing a blog focused on becoming the repository for all GTD knowledge and making it the defacto home for the GTD community on line was a dream come true for Marc.  Thus, it is with mixed emotions that I announce that the GTD Times is officially live.

Anyone that knew Marc Orchant knew of his passion for a productivity system developed by David Allen called GTD or Getting Things Done. This system which is becoming ever more popular among the stressed and overworked technocrats that our community is largely made of is simple but to deploy it to its fullest advantage takes years of practice and refining until your own personalized version has been fully baked.

Having worked with GTD for years, Marc was a go-to guy at events for people that were just starting out on their progression from GTD newbie to GTD “Black belt” - terminology left over from David Allen’s time as a karate instructor. It added further poignancy to his passing that Marc was just about to embark upon his dream job which was to be the technological evangelist and Chief Blog Editor for David’s company.

When Marc passed away so suddenly, it left David’s company in a tough spot - they’d already made major commitments to begin blogging and to do many other things to engage our community in a much more intensive and consistent way. All those plans were based upon Marc and many of them were in fact, Marc’s plans.

David reached out to me to see if I knew anything of what Marc had in mind and to see if I might be able to offer a hand given the situation. I told David that I was far from the GTD guru that Marc was - and in fact had stubbornly resisted Marc’s gentle efforts to get me going on the path to being supremely organized that is GTD. I did, I said, know a fair bit about what Marc had in mind and I could, I told David, help with getting a blog going and do some editing and write articles just so long as no one expected me to be able to fill Marc’s shoes.

So that’s how I ended up being one of the principal editors of the new GTD Times blog.

Marc and I had spent a lot of time talking about his vision for the blog and my goal is to see that I help fulfill as much of that vision as I possibly can. What he imagined was an open- community oriented portal. A site where no one person dominated, but rather where the information and the sharing of that information was the star. He wanted anyone with something to say to feel comfortable contributing and he wanted anyone that had a question to feel equally comfortable asking that question.

Expansive is a word that I think described Marc well. From his warm grin and long arms to his massive amount of knowledge and his insatiable desire for more. Expansive is a word that I heard Marc use when describing his vision for the GTD Times. He had planned on covering hardware (who would have guessed that he’d want to talk about gadgets?) and software, and even Moleskines. He wanted to interview people and show video and have podcasts. He wanted anyone in the community to be able to reach anyone else and he wanted the shared knowledge to accumulate until the site was the world’s foremost repository for GTD related information. The ultimate “how-to”, with the best “tips and tricks”, the deepest knowledge base, the answers to any and every question, and the beacon for all those lost in an inbox with a thousand unread messages, a center drawer that had batteries and paperclips, half a sandwich, a broken laser pointer, sixty three pens, a pack or matches, an empty butane bottle and this month’s bills mixed in with last month’s now overdue ones.

He wanted to fix what was broken - profoundly broken - as he used to put it, with our workplaces and he wanted to make sure that anyone with the interest in Getting Things Done and the desire to do more with their available time had the best possible resources all in one place.

This is a tall order and I know that as hard as I try, I won’t live up to the standards that Marc had set for himself without some help. So… I’m calling on you - yep - you reading this post - to help me fulfill Marc’s vision and help me create the most open, accessible, authoritative, informative, welcoming, supportive, enlightening, and yes, even challenging place anywhere in the world where people with an interest in GTD can come, congregate, learn, swap ideas and stories and of course Get Things Done.

The site is live but I’m hoping you’ll help me bring it TO LIFE with the treasure trove of ideas, experiences, stories, suggestions and links to other info - GTD and otherwise - that you think others will find interesting - that you think Marc would have found interesting. I hope to see you there.

For those of you that are friends of Marc I was just informed that a local New Mexico publication, Albuquerque Arts, has published and posted a tribute to Marc Orchant. Here’s the link.

Having traveled with Marc quite extensively in the previous two years, it turns out that I have accumulated a pretty reasonable number of photos of Marc and Marc with his friends like Jeremy Wright and Robert Scoble (just to name a couple). I’m pulling them all together into a set on Flickr and will post a link up here so that anyone that wants an image can easily find and download one.

I have to say, it’s been about a month and a half since Marc passed away and I miss him more than ever. With my odd hours it was about this time (6AM) that he and I would have our first conversation of the day… (sigh)

As you might imagine, 2007 ended on a pretty down note for me having lost my best friend just a few weeks before the end of the year. Add to this the fact that I’m out basically around $40,000 that I’m owed for the work and accrued travel expenses from the Blognation debacle and the manipulation and theivery of Sam Sethi and you can understand my rather glum demeanor.

The one silver lining - if there was one - was the truly remarkable generosity of people that so kindly donated funds to help Marc Orchant’s family out during what can only be described as a truly impossibly painful time.

As anyone that has been monitoring this site knows, I have kept an updated list of the people that have made donations via the PayPal donation link on this blog and the various links from other blogs to the donate pages here.

There were however, in addition to these donations, several companies that deserved special mention for being more than honorable in their generosity where none was required.

A big thank you to TJ, Jonathan and the folks at ThinkFree who in a real show of class did the right thing and honored Marc’s contract to the end.

Another note of huge appreciation to the folks at The David Allen Company. You guys demonstrated exactly why Marc was so pleased to have been a part of your team.

Of course I want to once again tell all those that gave so generously how deeply what you did has been appreciated by Marc’s family. Especially in the first weeks immediately after Marc passed your kindness made a very real difference which will never be forgotten.

As I said in the title, I was surprised by the generosity of so many but at the same time, I was also surprised by the fact that certain individuals were so notably absent from making any show of support not the least of which would have been a small monetary contribution that was badly needed and which in general would have been largely insignificant to certain people.

I’ll refrain from naming names, as I’m sure that these folks know who they are but just to be sure I’ll point out a couple of the key qualities of those so disappointingly missing from the list.

In particular, there are two people who have been enormously successful for whom Marc had been a key employee. I’d have thought that both of these men could have made a meaningful contribution. Even a substantial one wouldn’t have amounted to a day’s worth of interest on their respective bank accounts yet apparently they got rich and stay rich by keeping every cent. Thanks but no thanks.

Mr. Sam Sethi (okay, I said I wasn’t going to name names but this creep who owes Marc’s family so much money couldn’t even make good on one dollar of the debt) - don’t worry Scammy Sammy…I’m coming for you via the UK courts and it’s gonna be a party when I come to town.

The vast majority of the current blognation crew. You guys just suck. Marc edited your posts (particularly one blogger who had no business blogging in English considering it wasn’t a langauge he really spoke let alone could write in) and another that got to travel to events on Marc’s dime but couldn’t be bothered to contribute a penny to his family. (in my eyes he’s the definition of pathetic for many reasons least of all this one)

And thanks but no thanks to a few others that made such open shows of emotional trauma at the loss of their friend, Marc, but who couldn’t be bothered to find the paypal link and make some small gesture to help out where it was needed and would have made a difference.

If you made the list above and you know it for shame. Marc would have done better by you and in basically every case, he already had in one way or another. Particularly those of you so well-heeled (and in part because of Marc’s efforts on your behalf) you should be ashamed. Such a lack of generosity is - as Marc would have put it - profoundly broken- and I hope you read this and feel truly cruddy for being so unrelentingly greedy in your life. I really hope that karmic debt exists and you’ve just dug yourself a nice hole.

Yeah, I realize that this post isn’t destined to make me terribly popular with certain people but that’s okay. If the way you treat your friends is evidenced by the way you treated such a basic request for help I don’t want any part of you in this world or the next one.

Update:  Sue wanted to remind me to also extend her (and of course my) thanks and appreciation to Curl and Jnan Dash,  Takayuki Yoshida, and Richard Treadway, all of whom have also shown tremendous class and compassion in addition to those people previously mentioned above.

Update:6:00PM Mountain Time, December 12th, 2007

The Services commemorating the life of Marc Orchant where held today. It was a somber affair not a dry eye in the house. There were hundreds of people attending, overflowing the parking lot and the fixed seating. A number of people spoke: Marc’s daughter, Rebecca, gave an incredibly moving eulogy with remarkable composure. Marc, I am certain, was very proud.

I also spoke. I wanted to share the words I read to share my memories of Marc and the Friend who has left me behind. Be gentle; my heart is on my sleeve with this one.

Eulogy : Farewell, Marc.
Good morning. As you may have heard, Marc used to say that I had my own time zone.

I’ve even heard that I’ll be late to my own memorial service so I’m sure Marc isn’t the least but surprised that I’m late today…

I have to tell you; I can’t imagine how Sue and Rebecca and Jason must feel right now. Marc and I were friends for only a short time - just about two years - and yet I myself feel so lost without him.

Sue sent me a text message this morning at 4AM. She told me to get some sleep. But I didn’t. I was afraid that if I fell asleep I’d be late (or even later than I already am). You see when Marc and I traveled on business he’d be my alarm clock. If I didn’t answer the phone he’d come and get me. He’d knock softly on the door; if I didn’t stir, he’d open it and in that soft voice I’m sure you all remember he’d say,

“Time to get going, Pal. We don’t want to be late.”

I’m sure he knew we were going to be late. I am always late. Of course you all know that Marc was always on time. Always. Yet in spite of this flaw of mine, Marc never once - never once lost patience with me. I don’t really know why. I don’t know what I did so right to have someone so spectacular take such a liking to me that he’d overlook a characteristic so contradictory to his own nature.

His patience never waned although he had every right to be annoyed. Typically I’d rush down to the hotel lobby and Marc would be sitting there, waiting patiently. He’d smile his broad smile, ask me if I was ready, and head for the door, his broad strides forcing me to take two steps for every one of his.

I met Marc when he joined Foldera. For me, he was the silver lining in what ended up being an otherwise bad experience. The day we met we simply clicked and that bond grew as we worked together, planned together, shared our various life experiences with one another, and grew closer and closer as time passed.

When we both left Foldera (resigning within two weeks of one another) we knew that we wanted to work together again as soon as possible. We got that chance this fall when I joined a new blog network and immediately recommended Marc as co-editor.

Although that experience didn’t quite work out as planned as you may have read on my blog- it nevertheless gave Marc and I the chance to attend another couple of events together - the highlight of which was live-blogging DEMO Fall, tag team style.
At the time of his passing, Marc and I had become so close that we spoke to each other every day. Using our respective strengths to help one another to become more successful, working through problems, making future plans and - of course - telling stories. Marc loved the title Chief Storyteller - for that’s what Marc is.

Because we spoke every day, I can tell you a few things that you might not know. Marc was just about to begin a new chapter of his career with the David Allen company. If you knew Marc at all, you knew of his passion for the Getting Things Done life-management strategy of which he was a “black belt” practitioner.

What you may not know is that Getting Things Done is the 7 Habits of tomorrow. I am convinced it is the next big thing in time management strategies.

In life there are those rare instances where all the preparation you’ve done before, all the experience you’ve accumulated, all your stored knowledge and your body of prior work intersect with an exploding trend. When this happens you get famous. You get rich. You get everything you ever wanted.

I believe with all my heart that Marc was at the precipice of just such a moment and I told him so on more than one occasion. He was so excited to finally be working with David Allen - “his guru” - the really cool thing is the David and all the executives at David’s company were just as excited to be working with Marc.

In fact, anyone that had the chance to work with Marc was excited about it. Such is Marc’s professionalism, his ethics, his obvious skills, his diplomacy and his energy that he added enormously to every single thing he touched both professionally and personally.

And anyone — and I really mean anyone — benefitted from knowing Marc. In fact, I really don’t know what I’m going to do without this man that had in such a short time become my closest and most influential friend.

When Marc was struck ill I was torn between the desire to be there at his bedside and the understanding that my presence there might distract from the things that needed to be done. Sue is such a gracious hostess that I was afraid she might be worried about me when she needed to worry about Marc and herself.

I felt I’d be more useful as a source of news and information - both because I know that’s what Marc would have done for me and because I knew that once the community learned what had happened they would be clamoring for updates about their friend. I didn’t want the Orchant Family to have to be fielding hundreds of calls so I centralized the news on a new blog I’d created with pages specifically devoted to providing updates and information about Marc’s condition.

It is testimony to just how special Marc is that there are hundreds upon hundreds of comments across the blog I created and the one where I first posted the news of Marc’s emergency. If you haven’t done so, you really should take a moment when you have some quiet time and take a look at this page. Marc was loved by so many people. he touched the lives of people he had never even met. He was respected by even the most elite members of the technology community and he gave of himself freely, frequently and with pleasure.

When Sue called me to give me the devastating news that Marc was not going to recover I was again torn about going to be at his bedside for those last hours. I had just been with Marc and his family right before Thanksgiving, staying at their home for a few days. We did a presentation, attended an awards banquet, saw two movies, played with many gadgets, laughed, and of course, Marc told stories…

When they dropped me off at the airport Marc gave me one of his typical great bear hugs. “Fly Safe, Pal” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”

I didn’t want the last time I saw Marc to be in a hospital bed surrounded by machines. I feel that he wasn’t there anymore anyway. I believe that our bodies are simply containers for our souls and when our time here ends our souls leave them behind.

Marc and I were even talking about something similar during my visit. I had noted that all the greatest guitar players seem to pass away just as they reached the peak of their skills. I contended that they passed because they were being drafted for a bigger gig. Only the best for the “A” team upstairs I said only half joking. Marc didn’t disagree.

I guess that someone with a lot more on his schedule needed an expert on Getting Things Done and so he called for the best there was…

I only wish he could have waited longer. Marc, my friend; thank you for all the good you brought into my life. Thank you for the great advice and for the never ending enthusiasm. Thank you for the kindness and the early morning and late evening talks. Thank you for making me a better writer and a more complete human being. Thank you for your stories and your wisdom and your love. But most of all, Thank you for being you. I will miss you always but never, ever forget you.

Love Is Stronger Than Death Lyrics
The The, Matt Johnson

Me & my friend were walking
In the cold light of mourning.
Tears may blind the eyes but the soul is not deceived
In this world even winter isn’t what it seems.

Here come the blue skies Here comes springtime.
When the rivers run high & the tears run dry.
When everything that dies.
Shall rise.

LoveLoveLove is stronger than death.
LoveLoveLove is stronger than death.

In our lives we hunger for those we cannot touch.
All the thoughts unuttered & all the feelings unexpressed
Play upon our hearts and souls and won’t ever let us rest
But, awoken by grief, our spirits speak
“How could you believe that the life within the seed
that grew arms that reached
And a heart that beat.
And lips that smiled
And eyes that cried.
Could ever die?”

Here come the blue skies Here comes springtime.
When the rivers run high & the tears run dry.
When everything that dies.
Shall rise.

Because Love is stronger than death.

As Published in the Albuquerque Journal

ORCHANT — Marc Sherman Orchant, 50, passed away suddenly Sunday, December 9, 2007. He was born on July 30, 1957 in Freeport, NY to Norman and Glenda Orchant. Marc attended Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communication, where he majored in Linguistics and Graphic Design. It was there he met and fell in love with his wife Sue.

Upon graduating, Marc intended to move to the Bay Area, but stopped in New Mexico to visit his parents. He skiied, ate green chili and was hooked on the Land of Enchantment. He thought he would live in Albuquerque for a few years and then go on from there; twenty-eight years later, this is still home. Sue joined him soon after and the rest is history. They were married June 6, 1982 and just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this summer.

They brought two exceptional children into the world, Rebecca Sarah in 1984, and Jason Samuel in 1991. Marc’s family was his universe, everything he did was for them and his face immediately lit up anytime he spoke of them. In addition to his devoted wife, Sue; he is also survived by his son, Jason; his daughter, Rebecca and her boyfriend, Sean; his mother, Glenda; father, Norman; brother, Ed and his wife, Allison; nephew, Matthew; niece, Danielle; brother, Craig and his wife, Sue; nephew, Sam; niece, Emily; sister, Alison and her husband, Mitch; his in-laws, Jay and Ina Birch; brother in-law, Jeff and his wife, Ellen; niece, Alyssa; brother in-law, Jamie and his wife, Gail; and many other relatives and countless friends and colleagues also mourn his passing.

Marc was held in high regard by all in the technology world. He wrote a book for Microsoft, lectured at technology conventions, consulted, and was about to embark on the job of a lifetime with the David Allen Company. He preferred to describe his profession as simply “storyteller”.

One of Marc and Sue’s favorite things to do was to see live music. Together, they toured with the Grateful Dead, attended many music festivals, danced for hours and collected volumes and volumes of stories. He always shared these happy times surrounded by their countless and dear friends.

A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, December 12, 2007, 11:00 a.m., at Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana Blvd. NE. A celebration of his life will take place at a future date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests and requests that donations be sent to the Presbyterian Heart Foundation, attn: Cardiac Critical Care Unit, PO Box 2666, Albuquerque, NM 87125-6666. French Mortuary 1111 University Blvd. NE (505) 843-6333 www.frenchmortuary.com

I received the news around 3PM today that my closest friend, business associate, co-conspirator, sometime mentor, sometime
protege and full time confidante had passed away a week after suffering a massive heart attack at his home in New Mexico. He was 50 years old.Marc is survived by his wife, Sue, his daughter, Rebecca and his son, Jason. They are wonderful people. As much as I hurt for losing my friend, I hurt too for Marc’s family. Marc was a great father, a loyal friend and clearly an amazing husband. For once I seem to be at a loss for words as I try to express my grief and my sympathy for those people closest to Marc; to his loved ones left behind.

From the huge outpouring of love that we’ve seen from the technology community over the past week it is clearly evident just how special a person Marc Orchant was. Nearly everyone whose life he touched remembers Marc with a smile. His kind ways, encouraging words and boundless enthusiasm had a positive impact upon innumerable people. Marc was always the first to lend a hand or volunteer for the hardest job.

He lent an ear to so many people and gave of his time and experience freely where many would have demanded payment for such valuable insight and advice. I cannot count the number of times that Marc listened to problems and offered solutions to me and so many others.

A wonderful orator, an excellent teacher and a productivity expert without peer, perhaps nothing says more about Marc than this; in all the times we attended events, went to meetings, flew across oceans, or spoke on the phone, this man, who was never even 30 seconds late for anything, ever lost patience with me; a person he occasionally described as “having his own time zone”. Thinking back on that now, I think that small thing defines the kind of person Marc Orchant was and the depth of his friendship.

Marc “got” me. Marc “got” everyone. His sparkling wit, warm smile, easygoing way and keen intellect will be missed in so many places. I don’t know of anyone that knew Marc who didn’t like and respect him. He was a credit to our industry, an incredible friend and an asset that the world will sorely miss.

I can’t believe my time with Marc on this earth has come to so abrupt an end. I don’t know how I’ll ever fill the void left by the passing of my friend. I am sure that I echo the thoughts of the countless people that Marc touched in his time with us when I say that I’ll miss him always, but forget him never.

Rest In Peace, Marc. So Long and God Speed.

If You Would Like to Donate to Help Marc’s Family Through this Difficult Time, You Can Do So Here:

This page is dedicated to providing information and updates concerning the status of my good friend and colleague, Marc Orchant.

As you know, Marc suffered a massive cardiac infarction on Sunday morning, December 2nd 2007. My original post is copied below.

Updates will be added to this page in reverse chronological order with the must current news at the top. If you have previously linked to the page at Blognation.com and have posted this story, please update your links as I no longer have access to that page and thus will be posting all news, updates and pertinent information here. Additionally, if you have previously posted a get well comment on the Blognation post, you might wish to duplicate that comment here as this is where people will be directed in the future. Thanks for your support.

Sue and the rest of the Orchant family have expressed their surprise and gratitude for the outpouring of support from the technology community. Although at this time they are not able to directly offer thanks for the continued prayers, well wishes, and warmth, they have asked me to thank you from the bottom of their hearts. Your words of encouragement, cards, flowers, and other gifts, but particularly the incredible love that people have shown towards Marc and his family have helped make this very difficult time somewhat less unbearable.

Update as of 4:14 AM Pacific Time, December 5th, 2007:

Editor’s Note: I just got off the phone with Sue Orchant and she has given the update below.

A Message from Sue Orchant

Hi everyone. I want you all to know that your amazing, incredibly overwhelming, heartfelt response of love, concern, and good wishes for Marc is helping myself, Rebecca, Jason and out family get through this difficult time.

Please keep sending those prayers and positive energy Marc’s way. He knows as well as I that you are all there for him. I’ll have to tell him that he’ll need to change his name to George Bailey (It’s a Wonderful Life). It’s a beautiful thing to see.

In this past day we have seen some baby steps of improvement. He has some response to stimuli and his oxygen levels and heart rate have improved. I am guardedly optimistic. He still has not regained consciousness but we will take things minute by minute.

It’s hard to put into words but I know you are all here with me and I appreciate you all. I will update you as soon as I know more.

Thank You.

Sue and the Orchant Family

Original Post

THIS IS NOT AN ATTEMPT AT HUMOR

PLEASE REPOST

At some time between 7:30 and 8:10 AM on Sunday Morning December 2nd, 2007, Marc Orchant, my fellow author on this blog, as well as one of my closest friends sustained a massive heart attack while working in his home office. At this time Marc is in critical condition at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Critical Cardiac Care Unit, Bed 3. He is not expected to regain consciousness for the next 24 to 48 hours.

I was notified by Marc’s wife, Sue and asked to help notify Marc’s colleagues, friends and other business associates. Marc was scheduled to go to Seattle, WA as well as Ojai, CA this coming week. Obviously he will not be able to attend either event. Those of you that have association with either of Marc’s scheduled appearances at these locations, please notify those that require notice of this turn of events.

According to Sue Orchant, Marc was up early Sunday morning as is his normal custom. Sue told me that he was working in his office from about 7:30 AM until 8:10 when Sue says she heard a strange noise in Marc’s office. When she went to investigate she saw that Marc was not sitting in front of the computer like he normally does and was slumped over between his desk and a small couch that is in the room.

Initially, Sue said, she though he was leaning over doing something to their Golder Retriever but then she realized that he was not conscious. Fortunately, Sue has basic medical knowledge and after verifying that Marc was not choking and had a clear airway she began to perform CPR while their son, Jason, called paramedics.

The ambulance arrived in less than 10 minutes and technicians immediately took over performing CPR and administered treatment with a cardiac defibrillator. Marc was rushed into emergency open heart surgery where an angioplasty was performed to restore circulation in the blocked artery.

Sue went on to tell me that in spite of Marc’s apparent good health, he has severe occlusion in both his other arteries and they too will require treatment soon. That, however is a secondary concern as is the condition of Marc’s heart muscle. The primary concern and the question that cannot be answered until Marc regains consciousness is the nature or extent of any neurological damage as a result of insufficient oxygen reaching Marc’s brain.

While Marc still had what appeared to be normal color when Sue found him she is uncertain as to the exact time that Marc suffered the infarction. It is also unknown if Marc had stopped breathing or been without oxygen for any length of time prior to her discovery of the situation.

Currently Marc’s immediate family as well as his brothers and parents are in or on their way to Albuquerque to be with Marc. Sue has asked me to keep Marc’s colleagues and friends in the technology community updated as information becomes available. Please do not contact Sue for updates. I will publish any information that I have in multiple venues to keep people informed of any changes in Marc’s condition.

For those of you that wish to send flowers, cards, or other gifts, Marc is at:
Presbyterian Hospital
Cardiac Care Unit Bed #3
1100 Central Ave SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106

the hospital switchboard number is 505-841-1234.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Marc and his family in this difficult time. Marc is one of the finest human beings that I have ever had the good fortune to know and I pray that Marc makes a full and speedy recovery.