MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Saturday night Elvis faithful will gather at Graceland to remember ‘The King.’
August 16 marks the 38th Anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death.
Many fans who are in Memphis this week said Presley changed their lives, but one man who works at Graceland believes he may have saved his life.
“You can’t imagine all the things that line up right. It was in the stars,” said Jim Sykes.
‘Big’ Jim Sykes has been a fan of Elvis forever and works at Graceland for Elvis Presley Radio on SiriusXM.
He said thanks to Elvis he was in the right place at the right time when he suffered a heart attack three years ago.
Sykes works with George Klein, one of Elvis Presley’s best friends.
Sykes said he told Klein he hadn’t been feeling well in weeks and thought he had a torn rotator cuff.
Klein suggested Sykes go see his doctor who was huge Elvis fan and even had an Elvis exam room.
“I was really interested in seeing the Elvis exam room. The Elvis exam room is legendary,” said Sykes.
Sykes made an appointment with Dr. Mark Castellaw and during a routine exam Castellaw realized Sykes was having an acute heart attack.
He was rushed to Baptist Hospital were he underwent an emergency triple bypass surgery.
“The interesting thing with ‘Big’ Jim he is such a big Elvis fan. He said I still want to see the Elvis room before I leave and I told him if you don’t hurry up and get on that stretcher you are going to meet Elvis,” said Dr. Castellaw.
Sykes, of course, made a full recovery and finally got to see the Elvis room.
“I tell you I have the greatest job in the world playing Elvis songs nationwide on satellite radio, right from Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, but Elvis not only provides a living for me, but in a lot of ways Elvis saved my life,” said Sykes.
Since his surgery, Sykes has lost a lot weight and become much healthier.
He finally got to see the Elvis room and even added some Elvis memorabilia to the walls.
His message to others is don’t ignore the signs of a possible heart attack.
