Gondo downcast, but still hanging in there

By Ron Kantowski

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008 | 12:37 a.m.

NOW:

Today is Day 172 since UNLV basketball legend Glen Gondrezick was moved to the top of the list of those needing a heart transplant.

That's more than twice as long as the normal waiting period for a donor heart.

To be honest, Gondo's not doing all that well.

When I talked to him this morning, he sounded miserable, having had an episode that nearly sent him back to the emergency room on Tuesday night.

His spirit, normally upbeat, has taken a pounding, too.

He's so lightheaded he can hardly get out of bed. In its weakened state, his heart simply isn't strong enough to pump enough blood into his system to do the ordinary things most take for granted.

"Just to go down the stairs to the kitchen and back to my room, I have to lie down," he says of his weakened state.

Plus, his doctors keep changing his medication in an attempt to buy him more time. Each time they change it, he has to wait a week, to see what effect it has, before a course of action is determined. A lot of times, that only means trying other drugs, or different doses.

"It's like spinning the wheel on Wheel of Fortune," Gondo said, before rattling off the names of a bunch of drugs I could never pronounce, so there's no way I will attempt to spell them here.

If he doesn't respond to treatment in the next few days, he'll probably be subjected to another cardiac catheterization, a procedure in which a thin tube is inserted into an artery to determine how well the heart is pumping.

He's sick, tired, frustrated, demoralized, broke, worried and lonely, because his phone seldom rings anymore.

Otherwise, he's doing fine.

Persons wishing to donate a fund to help defray his medical bills and expenses can contract any Bank of America branch and ask for account 50-100-434-9211.

THEN:

One of my favorite singer-songwriters was Warren Zevon, who, after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, was asked by David Letterman if there was something that a person in his condition understands better than the rest of us.

"Just how much you're supposed to enjoy every sandwich," he said.

I know you probably won't remember that bit of advice 15 minutes from now. But you should still try.