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by Tom Coombe
State Rep. Roger Skraba (R) was back on the House floor in St. Paul this week after a health scare that landed him in the hospital.
Skraba had two stents installed in a surgical procedure Monday, after tests showed significant artery blockage.
“I knew there was something wrong,” said Skraba, a former Ely mayor serving his first term in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Skraba said symptoms got progressively worse leading up to his Sunday night visit to an emergency room at a St. Paul hospital.
“I walk every morning four-to-six miles with my dog,” said Skraba. “But last week when we were in session, every day it got progressively worse for me to walk from my office to the capitol. I was sweating, short of breath, just didn’t feel good. I felt I needed to get this checked out.”
Skraba said he initially planned to wait until the legislative session to get checked out, but a chance weekend encounter in Ely changed that.
“When I was home my neighbor walked by and he had just recently had open heart surgery, and I was talking to him and I felt ‘you know, this is God telling me to go in,’” said Skraba.
That and further symptoms Sunday prompted his trip to the hospital, where he was admitted and had the stint procedure done Monday morning.
“They dyed my heart and ballooned it and found blockages, and I had two stints put into my left descending artery,” said Skraba.
Skraba was released from the hospital late Tuesday and was back on the House floor the following day.
During a break in session Thursday, Skraba talked briefly about the scare and said a valuable lesson could be learned.
“I kept putting it off, but the message is if you wait too long you might do more damage,” said Skraba.
