The Country Music Hall of Famer tells
People that he knew something was wrong for more than six months preceding the routine medical checkup that led to his surgery. He'd felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath in the months prior to his diagnosis, but even so, he admits, when his doctors advised that he undergo an angiogram after a six-month health checkup yielded concerning results, he nearly decided to put it off for a week since he and his wife, Sharon White, were slated to visit their son, Luke, and his wife Rosemary as they got ready for the birth of their son.