Schuller Showing Signs of ‘Complete Recovery’

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller was in high spirits at UCI Medical Center Sunday, basking in concern from at least 800 well-wishers after a minor heart attack and a procedure to clear a blocked artery.

Calls “from around the United States” flooded the hospital and Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove after the 71-year-old underwent an angioplasty Saturday, said church spokesman Michael Nason.

The get-well messages have come from anonymous supporters and televangelist superstars alike: Nason said the office of the Rev. Billy Graham called the hospital early Sunday to arrange a brief conversation between the two men.

Schuller, who remained in the intensive care unit, “slept very well during the night” and was visiting with family Sunday, Nason said. Doctors planned to send him home Tuesday.

“Dr. Schuller’s vital statistics are very strong and he shows every sign of a complete recovery,” Dr. Thomas Cesario--Schuller’s physician and dean of the UCI College of Medicine--said in a statement. “Schuller is in excellent spirits.”

Nason said his boss awakened with a lot of energy, eager to get back to work and family commitments.

“He said, ‘Where are my pants? I’m ready to go home. I want to take my wife out to dinner,’ ” Nason said. “The doctor said to him, ‘Maybe next week.’ ”

Schuller also said he was feeling better Sunday “than he’d felt in months,” Nason said, indicating that his condition may have been developing for some time.

The televangelist, whose “Hour of Power” broadcast draws about 30 million viewers, felt chest pains about 2:30 p.m. Friday after a meeting at the cathedral. He called his doctor, who told him to go to the hospital. After he arrived at UCI, Schuller called his wife and told her he planned to drive himself home that night to begin preparing Sunday’s sermons.

But after an examination, doctors told Schuller to stay put.

They found that one of the arteries leading into the left ventricle of Schuller’s heart was blocked. They performed an angioplasty to clear it Saturday morning.

Cesario said Saturday that Schuller was “never in immediate danger. He didn’t suffer a drop in blood pressure and never experienced heart failure.” Doctors lauded Schuller for seeking prompt treatment and averting a potential crisis, Nason said.

Schuller’s son, Robert A. Schuller, substituted for him in the pulpit during two Sunday services at the 10,000-member Crystal Cathedral.

“The congregation was very supportive and in deep prayer for Dr. Schuller,” Nason said of the services. “The tone of the day was set by what’s been happening. The congregation heard from Dr. Schuller’s son, Robert, about the incident, about the prognosis and about his return.”

Schuller’s heart ailment comes at an especially difficult time.

On Christmas Eve, Schuller traditionally preaches seven sermons. One sermon, which would mark Schuller’s 200th Christmas Eve service, is scheduled to be broadcast to 154 countries.

Nason said Schuller, his family, and the entire congregation are optimistic that he may rally for the holidays. “Everyone’s in prayer that he might be able to return for most if not all the Christmas Eve services,” Nason said. “The congregation really applauded” when Robert Schuller raised that prospect.

The conservative televangelist has been in the news this year for both advising President Clinton and allegedly assaulting an airline attendant in a dispute during a transcontinental flight.

After the latter incident, Schuller pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge but apologized in court, paid a $1,100 fine and agreed to six months under the supervision of a federal case officer.