Autumn 2020 was exceptionally beautiful, but what Bill Conger remembers from that time is exceptionally terrifying with significant gaps in his memory.

Conger, 53, is curator of collections and exhibitions at Peoria Riverfront Museum. He and his wife Michelle were visiting their oldest son in Springfield, Mo., who was turning 21.

Conger was fit, slim and biked six miles a day. A recent EKG and blood work had put him in a low risk category for heart attack.

“It felt like the stamp of approval,” he said.

But he had been feeling a tightness in his body, almost like a mild pulled muscle or systemic stress. He and his wife woke up Oct. 2 in their hotel. Conger decided to take a walk to ease his body aches.

But the body aches got worse and he began to sweat and feel nauseated. Returning to the room, he said to his wife, “I think we better go to the hospital.”

They drove themselves 10 minutes to Mercy Hospital, a facility that happens to specialize in cardiac care.

He was fast tracked at check in and then passed out.

Conger was in full cardiac arrest.

“They revived me enough to see Michelle,” he said, “then I coded and my heart stopped.”

He regained consciousness six hours later in recovery.

While he was in surgery, his youngest son had driven from Champaign-Urbana to Springfield, Mo., because the prognosis had looked so bleak. The family was together when Conger regained consciousness.

Recovery has been steady, and Conger set out on a research mission.

“How can I never do that again?” drove his research.

He discovered Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a former surgeon and one of the world’s leading cardiac clinicians and researchers who contends cardiac disease is a food-borne illness that is preventable.

“No one can promise that couldn’t happen again, but diet was the only card I had left to play,” Conger said, so he plunged head-first into the whole food, plant-based, no added oil diet recommended by Esselstyn, who had been at the Cleveland Clinic for more than 35 years.

The Esselstyn plan does not dwell on restricting calorie consumption or measuring ounces of food. It eliminates meat, dairy and processed foods and is based on whole plant-based foods with no added oils. Recipes range from Black Bean Chili, Sloppy Lentil Joes and stir fries to banana ice cream and chocolate sauce.

In his lectures, Esselstyn often shows slides of a nearly blocked coronary angiogram followed by a slide taken 32 months after following his recommended diet showing profound arterial improvements.

Conger had already eliminated red meat from his diet nine months before his heart attack, but then “went cold turkey” into all aspects of the Esselstyn diet.

Conger discovered the Esselstyn research and diet through his books and published research articles. “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” by Esselstyn was a New York Times Bestseller.

“It’s fascinating how much impact can be made when your mind is open to the idea of doing things differently,” Conger said, noting that now, seven months after his heart attack, his doctor is extremely pleased with his test results and he continues to feel better.

“It was not that difficult to transition to this diet, given my alternative,” Conger said. “There were periods my family did not think I would make it. I don’t want to put my family through that again. As bad as it was for me, it was 10 times worse for my family.”

Conger’s mission now, in addition to his own health and diet, is to try to help his sons who may have this cardiac land mine in their genetic makeup. As an adopted child, Conger did not know his hereditary risks.

In terms of communitywide education, Conger has been discussing a major museum exhibition on cardiac health with museum director John Morris. They hope to collaborate with Peoria’s medical community and open an exhibit toward the end of 2022.

“What if we could present information that prevents children from becoming addicted to cheeseburgers? We could see a change in the culture of our own town,” Conger said. “I’m not here to make a judgment about what people eat but to present an alternative. We can do better than we are.”

Like everyone, Conger is deluged with information and must sort out credible information from false marketing and entrenched thinking.

“Esselstyn is credible and has 35-plus years of proven results. This was absolutely right for me,” Conger said.

Following a recent appointment with his doctor, Conger said, “I could see my cardiologist smile. He was almost giddy when he looked at my results. I had hit rock bottom and came back. I’m seven months out from my heart attack. On Oct. 3, it felt like a waiting game. Waiting to die. Now I feel like I have power.”