Wayne Sponagle's voice at the other end of the phone wasn't its usual raspy self and he admitted he was in a lot of pain.
That's to be expected from the longtime coach of the Spruce Capital Warriors Boxing Club while he recovers from quadruple bypass heart surgery.
The 68-year-old Sponagle knew when he left Prince George by air ambulance that three of his main blood vessels were mostly blocked but it wasn't until his heart surgeon at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver opened him up that it was discovered a fourth bypass was required.
Sponagle was flown to Vancouver Sunday night and underwent surgery Tuesday morning.
"I think they got it all fixed," said Sponagle. "Even the doctor who did the operation was surprised he had to do a quadruple bypass operation. On August 8, all it showed was a triple bypass but on September 23rd it was a quadruple bypass."
Sponagle has nearly five decades of experience as a trainer in pro and amateur boxing and made his professional debut in the ring at age 52 when he fought on a pro card in Prince George.
During the summer, his condition prevented him from doing his usual job in the training gym - holding up the hand pads in sparring sessions for his two pro boxing protgs, Marcus Hume and Thomas Speirs. Sponagle, however, was in their corner when they fought Sept. 12 on a pro card in Edmonton.
Sponagle was up and out of bed and walking around two days after his surgery. He was expecting friends from Vancouver to drop by for a visit on Friday.
He said he hopes to be released from hospital on Sunday or Monday and plans to be back in the Spruce Capital gym in the basement of the Future Shop building to register new boxers for the season.
"We'll be back at it, we'll be starting registration on October 6th at 5:30," he said. "If nothing unforeseen happens, I'll be there. I can't wait to get back home."
