Bar D Chuckwagon guitarist and vocalist Gary Cook and his family were preparing to go to dinner for quality time together before the Bar-D Wranglers’ music season started.

He then began feeling ill.

After his wife Brigette asked if he needed to get checked out, Cook headed to the hospital, fully expecting to be sent home. Once his blood results came back, however, Cook was being prepped to be flown out of Durango’s Mercy Medical Center for surgery.

“I kind of thought they would have sent me back home until the blood work came back. They went from thinking about sending me home to prepping me for surgery,” Cook said. “It was quite a shock to all of us.”

Cook was having a cardiovascular event. Medical staff tried to do a stint procedure, but it was unsuccessful. Cook required triple bypass surgery to save his life.

After being flown to the Penrose Center in Colorado Springs, Cook met with the surgeon in just under five hours.

“Even the surgeon said, ‘I’ve never seen this happen that quickly.’ It happened very fast … It was pretty amazing how seamless it all went,” Cook said.

Before his surgery could take place, Cook had to wait for five days to ensure no other problems developed. Once the surgery took place, it was successful.

“Brigette and I have been married for 27 years now, and one day I spoke to all of the guys that actually stood up at our wedding. Two of them showed up at the hospital and the others called me that day,” Cook said.

Another friend named Jim Jordan came to visit him right after his surgery.

“The first day that I got up to go for a walk down the hallway, I came around the corner and he was standing at my door. So pretty amazing friends and family … Brigette and the girls have just been wonderful. I feel really fortunate,” Cook said.

The surgery and subsequent recovery took place during the Bar-D Wranglers’ opening weeks, something Cook had never missed in his 34 years with the band.

This year commemorates his 35th year as the band’s guitarist and harmony vocalist.

“I had never missed a show up there, and here it is, the night before we open and we found this out,” Cook said.

Despite missing three weeks because of his surgery, Cook didn’t wait long before making it back to the Bar-D stage.

Just three weeks after surgery, Cook performed again with the Bar-D Wranglers. Although he is performing, he isn’t cleared yet to help with the food service or other Chuckwagon responsibilities.

“I’m not doing the entire evening there, but what I’ve been doing while I’m just regaining my strength basically is just going up for the show itself,” Cook said. “I went back in my third week, actually, and it’s worked out pretty well.”

In his absence, some of Cook’s musician friends – including a group from Texas and Ignacio resident Chuck Glass – filled in for the award-winning guitarist while he recuperated.

Cook said the band has been supportive and encouraging while he was recovering. His co-workers at the railroad and its bus company, where he is the transportation manager, have also supported him.

“They’ve been great,” Cook said. “Now when I go out on stage, it feels really good to be back. And even though I’m still not 100%, it’s coming, and I can feel it, and I think they’re happy that I’m there and I’m certainly glad to be back.”

Music has been part of Cook’s life since early childhood.

When Cook was 4 years old, he and his siblings did a weekly radio show in Denver – the Rocky Mountain Jamboree on KLAK-Radio. This exposure gave him the desire to make music a career.

“We would go in and play on the weekly show and play,” Cook said. “Since this surgery, I’ve been visiting with my siblings a lot, and we’ve gone over a lot of the memories from that, and it’s been enjoyable just getting to spend time with them.”

Cook’s love for music has taken him to some of the biggest stages, including a performance at the Grand Ole Opry with the Bar-D Wranglers. He was also named two-time flat pick champion guitar player at both the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival in Winfield, Kansas.

He joined the Bar-D Wranglers after one of the members died.

Reflecting on his music career so far and while recovering from his bypass surgery, Cook’s favorite part about being part of the Bar-D Wranglers is being able to pursue his love of music and being an entertainer while staying close to home and those who matter the most.

“So many people that actually pursue that for their career wind up being out on the road, going up and down the road in a bus,” Cook said.

Before heading up to the Chuckwagon to perform for another evening, Cook expressed his gratitude for everyone who has supported him and his family during his recovery.

For more information on the band’s performance times for the summer season, visit bardchuckwagon.com.