ROAD TO RECOVERY; BOARD PRESIDENT BACK AFTER SURGERY.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

Much like the aftershock of an earthquake, it was a matter of time before another heart attack would strike.

John Hassel knew this, but the natural tendency to push the inevitable from daily thought blindsided him three months ago, when he was stricken for the second time in the last 10 years.

Hassel, 60, president of the William S. Hart Union High School District board, underwent double bypass surgery on April 9, after his heart failed while doctors were examining him for recurring chest pains.

A board member of eight years whose second term expires in December, Hassel returned to his duties as an overseer in public education this month. Wednesday's board meeting was the second one he has attended since the recent heart attack.

Hassel has lived in the valley for 30 years with his wife, Patricia, and two grown children. He ran for election eight years ago after feeling a ``total sense of outrage'' over the state of public education and a compulsion to bring about positive reform.

Now one of his biggest challenges is striking a balance between health and duty.

``I'm anxious to get going again,'' he said last week, as he dropped by the Hart district offices to check up on business.

These days, he is feeling ``about 70 percent'' since his ordeal, he said.

Easing his broad, 6-foot frame clad in faded jeans and flannel shirt into one of the chairs in Conference Room A, he continued, ``I would have preferred taking more time before coming back, but there's a lot to do. I'm awestruck by it.''

A constant priority continues to be finding qualified teachers, he said.

As for his health, he considers his recovery slow going, but also admits that he's ``not a good patient, by any means.''

``I have never been that dependent on anyone in my life. I was infuriated. . . . I couldn't talk, I couldn't eat,'' he recalled. ``I was in constant pain. I kept thinking, How in the hell can I get myself out of this?''

Despite his disdain for being hospitalized, he was quick to credit surgeons and health care workers for their quick diagnosis, immediate attention and postsurgical care.

During an angiogram, doctors found ``major blockages'' in Hassel's arteries, which alarmed them enough to rush Hassel into a 5-1/2-hour emergency surgery, in which they opened his chest cavity to remove his heart and clear the blockages.

Although his hospital stay lasted seven days, the road to recovery for Hassel has been a long one by his own standards, punctuated by new daily regimens involving medication, exercise and inhalation therapy.

Hassel smoked his last Cool Menthol 100 cigarette on April 9, ending a 47-year habit, he said.

``I put it out as I walked through the hospital gate,'' he said, nodding and drumming his hands on the table before him.

There have been telltale signs of his steady recovery: regaining the 22 pounds he lost in six days at the hospital; increasing the frequency, pace and duration of his daily walks; and rolling up his sleeves and getting back to work.

He's also begun enjoying some of his favorite pastimes again, such as touring the countryside in his RV with his wife, reading and rebuilding computers.

Another favorite hobby - rebuilding classic cars - will come later, when his strength has returned.

In the meantime, he's been assigned a strict diet, but follows it ``in the tradition of Greek and Hellenic philosophies, with everything in moderation,'' he said.

Noted Hassel, ``Life is a unique and grand experience, but you can't get out of it alive.''

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PHOTO (Color) William S. Hart Union High School District board President John Hassell, 60, recovers steadily from a double heart bypass operation.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News