UKRAINIAN VILLAGE — Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick will undergo open-heart surgery Thursday — a “four-bagger,” he joked — to repair clogged arteries.
“Could have settled for a triple bypass — but what the hell, I figured as long as you’re in there doc? Make a day of it,” Fitzpatrick posted on Facebook.
Fitzpatrick, 56, thought he was having a heart attack on Monday and went to St. Mary’s Hospital to get checked out. Doctors determined he didn’t have a heart attack, but needed quadruple-bypass surgery, according to Fitzpatrick’s wife, Michelle.
Even as nurses prepared Fitzpatrick for surgery Thursday morning, the Ukrainian Village artist, author and actor remained his typical, sarcastic self.
“Take me to Vegas,” Fitzpatrick said as he was rolled toward the operating room.
In September, Fitzpatrick and his pal, Stan Klein, performed the stage play they co-wrote, “The Midnight City,” at the Steppenwolf Garage.
Fitzpatrick called the play a reflection on a man’s life after middle age.
“It’s about the end. The big adios,” he said. “When you turn 55 you realize there’s more road behind you than ahead, and how much the city has changed. How do you make the best of the time you have left? Do you stay in one place the rest of your life?”
Michelle Fitzpatrick said doctors gave her husband a positive prognosis.
“Tony is young. He’s got a lot of time left,” she said. “We’re going to see a different Tony when this is all over.”
On Facebook, Fitzpatrick posted an image of one of his bird collages.
“Here is a nice birdie to keep you company while I'm gone,” Fitzpatrick wrote. “Talk to you on the other side of this.”
He signed off by quoting famed wire walker Karl Wallenda. “Life is the wire ... the rest of it is just waiting.”
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