Muscle Sport Magazine » Iron Game

Legendary Dan Lurie, 88, Overcomes Health Scare

Staff Report — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:07:58 +0000

Dan Lurie Proves That He Really Does Have A Heart Of Steel!!!

A master of the iron game and a warm natured family man, it was only a play on words when Dan Lurie named his autobiography “Heart Of Steel” but the title of the book proved quite literal this summer as the 88-year-old physical fitness pioneer was electrically shocked several times by a steel device implanted in his chest called a defribellator. Born with a heart murmur in 1923, doctors didn’t expect Lurie to live past age 5 but he defied those odds to become a renowned body building champion, world record holder and physical fitness aficionado. In his 70′s , due to his lengthy cardiac history, doctors had the foresight to recommend a surgical procedure where they would place an electrical defribillation device underneath his skin and connect it with wires to his heart. Almost 20 years later, the device was a lifesaver for him but the reason Lurie’s life was in jeopardy in the first place was astounding. A little known household danger was the cause of his ordeal and now that he is on the mend, Lurie is on a mission to alert the public.

It all started rather innocuously when Lurie got a minor cut on his leg. He cleaned it out and didn’t think much of it at the time but being that he was out of hydrogen peroxide solution, he poured rubbing alcohol on the cut to sterilize it, instead. It burned a bit but he is a tough guy and he thought he was macho enough to handle it. He put a band aid on and continued with his business and repeated this regiment for a few days. Everyone knows that rubbing alcohol is a sterilizing agent so Lurie’s mistake is a simple one to make and all too common. What most people don’t know, is that rubbing alcohol should only be used to sterilize surfaces or on skin that has no lacerations. Strangely enough, when applied on an open wound, rubbing alcohol actually causes infections. This is due to the fact that the alcohol kills the surrounding tissue on the outside of an open cut and turns the dead tissue into food for germs to feed off of. Therefore, unbeknownst to Lurie, his daily woundcare routine actually caused him to get a serious infection on his leg called Cellulitis which eventually required medical treatment including IV antibiotics.

What happened next was described as the perfect storm. An adverse reaction to medications in Lurie’s body caused his potassium levels to drop to dangerously low levels. Low potassium caused his heart to beat too fast and to fluctuate too far from a healthy sustainable rhythm. The irregular heartbeats triggered his defribileator device nto action and it shocked his heart back into a normal rhythm. Dan received a total of 14 shocks and this fact alone has astounded the doctors and medical staff alike who all agree it speaks volumes to Lurie’s great strength at 88 years of age. Apparently, most people describe the electrical shock of a defribilator as being debiliatingly painful, a sensation as if they were kicked by a mule in the back of the neck. But Lurie was shocked 11 times over 5 days before he even realized something was wrong enough to go to a hospital. When he finally did seek medial attention, he was then shocked another 3 times (the last shocks he does liken to the mule experience) and he was admitted into the ICU where his condition was quite serious. However, Dr. Mezzafonte, his cardiologist at St. Francis Hospital on Long Island was quickly able to identify the problem as low potassium and once he supplmented that mineral and stopped the medications that were causing him to lose potassium in the first place, Lurie quickly responded. ”It was a scary experience” Dan said, but he was very thankful to learn that his heart was actually not damaged at all from the ordeal and a full recovery was expected.

After a week or so he was released from the hospital but Lurie suffered a set back as he had began to suffer from insomnia, a complication caused by the current from the electrical shocks he received which slightly altered his body chemistry. He had become supercharged and could not sleep or shut his mind down. ”It was almost comical” says one of his fifteen grandchildren. ”He was like super grampa on speed, stuck on fast forward. But we were a little worried when more than a week went by and he had hardly slept a wink. I don’t know how he had the strength to do it” he stated “I’m not even a quarter of his age and I was exhausted trying to keep up with him!!” After having to return to the hospital for treatment for the insomnia, Lurie slowly began to return to normal. He is currently back at home with his wife of almost 65 years and is thrilled to be on the mend and enjoying the end of the summer. Lurie intends to take part in a promotional tour for his book this coming winter and is making plans to speak at several events around the country to spread the word about the hidden danger of rubbing alcohol when used in wound care. After all, as his famous slogan goes, “Health is your greatest wealth.”

COURTESY OF DAN LUIRE

FAME/BodyProud Pre-Judging Wows ‘Em

Joe Pietaro — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:44:44 +0000

Fans of the Iron Game are well aware of how important the pre-judging rounds are in determining the placings that will be announced during the finals. It is said that the evening show is mainly for the fans and a formality. Sorry to break the news, but that isn’t the case with the FAME World Tour.

The War Memorial in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida was robust with plenty of hootin’ and hollerin’ on Saturday afternoon and one can only imagine how loud it is going to get later on. The judge’s panel were very meticulous in getting every available angle and view of all the competitors and asked for the music to be turned down on more than one occasion to concentrate and get the scoring right.

Category after category were marched out and went through their routines as family, friends and fans cheered them on. Getting a good look at the costumes during the ‘theme’ rounds also resulted in rounds of applause and showed just one of the many reasons why attending a FAME show is an entirely different experience than anything else.

Some of the women’s outfits were reminiscent of a Victoria’s Secret modeling show with muscles. And it wasn’t all just for the guys in the audience. The men’s fitness rounds gave the impression of a large bachelorette party.

FRIDAY NIGHT’S FAME SHOWCASE

The weekend began with a public yet intimate evening with a room full of not only the FAME athletes, but their family, friends and support teams. Competitors came from as far as Australia and the United Kingdom and were called up to the stage to tell their personal story.

Inspiring and touching tales accompanied the positive feeling of seeing these special people in person and learning first hand why they decided to become ‘BodyProud.’ In some ways it had the feel of an AA meeting or something along those lines but instead of stating how many days they have been ‘clean,’ these people said what made them decide to make a lifestyle change and dedicate themselves to the gym.

From recovering addicts to accident victims and the physically challenged, these men and women all had their time with the microphone and it was an experience unlike any other that one would expect the night before a bodybuilding show.

Dan Lurie This Week’s Guest on MuscleSport Radio

Joe Pietaro — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:09:32 +0000

On Tuesday April 28 we will be joined by the great Dan Lurie on MuscleSport Radio. You will not want to miss a minute of this episode and we will delve into so much of the history of the Iron Game that Dan has experienced in his life.

Lurie, 86, is one of the most recognizable names in the industry and has seen it all. Even marginal fans of bodybuilding have come across the name Dan Lurie while lifting weights by looking at the name on the actual plates.

Lurie’s involvement in the inaugural Mr. & Mrs. Jones Beach USA contest last summer gave it immediate credibility and we will also be discussing the 2009 show, which will take place on Long Island on August 9. (www.jonesbeachusa.com)

His official website is www.danlurie.com.

MuscleSport Radio can be heard live every Tuesday from 1:00 to 2:00 PM Eastern time on www.blogtalkradio.com and all episodes are archived on Blog Talk Radio, MuscleSport Mag and iTunes.

Please feel free to join us and give us your opinion, ask Dan a question or make a comment. Our call-in number is 347-884-8157.

A Few Surprises at Europa Show of Champions

Joe Pietaro — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:54:48 +0000

Bodybuilding is not unlike any other sport. Where as any team can win on any given Sunday, so is the case in the Iron Game. Take the 2009 Europa Show of Champions as an example. Troy Alves, who finished way back of the pack (11th) at the Iron Man Pro a few months ago, took the top spot. The 41-year-old won his first professional show and has only broken the top three on three occasions since 1996.

Hidetada Yamagishi was the runner-up and many people felt that he should have won the show. The two other popular names, Darrem Charles and Sergey Shelestov, finished third and fourth, respectively.

In the fitness competition, Shannon Meteraud finished in first place for the second time in two weeks after also winning the New York Metropolitan on April 11. After placing in the top six at the Ms. International (Arnold Classic), she has continued to impress with her performance and appearance.

The placings after that were a bit on the puzzling side if you go by what happened in New York City recently. In Orlando, Myriam Capes took second after finishing fifth at the New York Metro, and Tina Durkin fell two spots from third to fifth. Mindi O’Brien, who did not participate in Manhattan, made the top three at the Europa. Erin Riley actually moved up from sixth to fourth against a stronger field of competitors.

Nicole Wilkins Lee won the figure, with Heather Mae French and Monica Brant-Peckham following. Lee did well for herself after placing eighth in Ohio, as did French (seventh) and Brant (sixth) from back in March. The figure was, perhaps, the only predictable top three throughout the whole weekend in Florida.