Jennifer Nuckolls, Hickman County Gazette with permission
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 11:41 am

(Clinton KY April 7, 2013) - Futurist Ivan Potter is home resting after spending a week in Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfield, Kentucky.  On Friday night, March 22nd Potter started experiencing chest pains and checked himself into the emergency room. Shortly after registration he was informed that he would not be going home anytime soon. After several test and x-rays doctors discovered that Potter had roughly 3 pounds of fluids on his lungs and around his heart.

Potter was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and arrhythmia (an erratic heartbeat) by cardiologist, Dr. Thomas Salvucci and a team of specialists. He spent five days in the CCU (critical care unit) followed by two days in a regular room. Dr. Salvucci performed a heart catheterization on Thursday March 28 to determine if the heart problems were caused by blockages in the veins or arteries. The test found that Potter had 5% blockage in one artery but nothing severe. Dr. Salvucci described Potter’s heart problems as “electrical”.

On the third day in the CCU, Potter was allowed internet access. He was looking forward to checking his email and touching base with friends and family. While trying to check his mail he discovered that over 5 years of emails and documents had been deleted. He contacted the server and had no luck retrieving them. There was no explanation as to why or how they had been destroyed.

Potter stated that he took this happening as a wake-up call. He looked at it as a “Clear and Fresh Start”. He also said that it must have been a sign from God that the past is over and he needed to make changes for the future.

Potter is currently president of the Hickman County Arts Council and the Hickman County Historical Society. He is a Clinton City Councilman, active in the Hickman County Student Leadership Program and involved in several other organizations.

Only a month after Potter’s being elected president, the Hickman County Historical and Genealogical Society Building collapsed. He faced the possibility of over 30,000 bricks destroying roughly 100,000 historical records stored in the building.

Potter suspected that the stress from the disaster along with his busy lifestyle, triggered his health problems. He felt as if he was having to force his body to move forward each day. He now regrets ignoring the signals his body was giving him to slow down.

Doctors ordered Potter to watch his diet, limit salt, exercise and get a lot of rest. He is currently taking 8 different medications and watching what he eats. He now reads food labels for calories and salt content. He hopes to be well enough to start walking once the weather allows it.

Potter plans on cutting out down on stress by withdrawing from several organizations and taking time to fix himself. Even with these strict orders, he remains optimistic about his role in bettering the community and helping shape the future of Clinton. He is looking forward to staying home and writing. He wants to publish two books within the year.

Potter can’t imagine the pain and suffering he put his wife through during this time. He said, “Mary Potter was pretty much my foundation and rock. Without her, I probably wouldn’t have made it.”

Ivan and Mary received phone calls, emails, cards and flowers from people all over the country. Mary kept the community up-to-date on Potter’s status through Facebook. The Potters were overwhelmed by all the love and support people have given them. They cannot stress enough how much it is appreciated.  They ask that you continue to keep Mr. Potter in your prayers.