"One night about 8 years ago, 6 year old Sean Anderson got up from bed complaining of nausea and stomach ache. He had a low grade fever, so his parents comforted him and put him back to bed, assuming it was a typical virus. A week later, Sean still wasn't feeling well, so they took him to his pediatrician, who also diagnosed a virus. A week later, Sean's condition became worse, and his parents rushed him to the ER late one night. The physician diagnosed a virus and encouraged his parents to keep him hydrated. The following week, Sean's condition was still worse and he was very weak. Frantic, his parents brought him to his pediatrician's office again, and for the first time, a physician listened to Sean's heart. He was immediately diagnosed with endocarditis, an inflammation of the inside lining of the heart chambers and heart valves. No one is sure exactly how Sean contracted endocarditis--bacterial infection is the most common source but it can also be caused by fungi. In some cases, no cause can be identified. Sean was immediately hospitalized and spent a month in the hospital receiving intravenous antibiotics. Long-term antibiotic therapy is required to eradicate the bacteria from the heart chambers and valves. After continuing more medications at home, Sean returned to normal life, but the infection had damaged his tricuspid valve and his stamina was never strong. Eight years later, 14 year old Sean needed a physical to try out for high school basketball. Although his heart doctor cleared Sean to play, his father was concerned about his lack of stamina and took Sean to the Sanger Clinic for a second opinion. Dr. Richard Smith performed an echocardiogram which revealed that Sean's right tricuspid valve had also deteriorated. Dr. Smith and pediatric surgeon, Dr. Christopher Baird, consulted with Sean's family and felt that surgery could correct the problem. On January 9, 2007, Sean underwent the procedure. Dr. Baird later told the family that during the operation he was able to correct additional heart problems that were not revealed by the earlier tests. Sean's liver was being damaged by his enlarged heart, which immediately shrank back to normal size during the procedure. Sean is recovering well and hopes to play sports this year. Sean's family is relieved that Sean's long ordeal is finally over, and that he can grow up without the shadow or effects of his long ago heart troubles."

"A few days after Paul was born, his pediatrician recommended he see a pediatric cardiologist to examine his heart. His suspicions were confirmed--Paul had a hole between his left and right ventricle, as well as a restricted pulmonary valve. Sometimes these holes close by themselves, and no surgery was recommended at that young age. Over the next few months, Paul was closely watched by his parents for signs of distress. When Paul was 10 months old, his mother received a call from Paul's daycare reporting that Paul was crying after "blue spells" where he had trouble breathing. Ms. Watkins took Paul directly to the pediatrician, who in turn referred her to pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Donald Riopel. Paul was flown immediately to Charlotte and taken to Carolinas Medical Center. After Paul's condition stabilized, doctors recommended surgery to correct the restricted valve and repair the hole. Dr. Cook (now retired) had just performed North Carolina's first pediatric heart transplant, and performed Paul's surgery just days later. After a week in intensive care and then a week in the hospital, Paul returned home to Asheville. For the next 15 years, Paul returned to Charlotte for routine checkups. Paul was a very active child, participating in basketball, karate, and other sports. It was during a basketball practice when Paul was 16 that he complained that his heart was racing, and that he was unable to sufficiently relax and catch his breath. The Watkins called Dr. Riopel, who advised skipping basketball practices until Paul could be examined. The exam revealed that the left side of Paul's heart was too large as a result of the irregular valve. The valve would have to be replaced. The surgery was done by Dr. Christopher Baird in February 2007. Like a typical teenager, Paul's anxiety about the surgery was perhaps due mostly to concerns about when he could resume driving and playing basketball again. Dr. Baird assured Paul that four weeks would be a sufficient recovery period, and that he could easily resume an active, unrestricted life. This new valve could last 20 years or more, and Paul should be able to live a completely normal, healthy life. After a few days at home, Paul's mother asked him how he felt, if he felt any different. He responded by saying that when he laid down at night in bed, he didn't feel the bed shaking anymore--his heart was no longer rattling him in rest. The Watkins family was touched by the concern and genuine warmth they received by all the staff and physicians at Carolinas Medical Center and Sanger Clinic. The team effort headed by Dr. Riopel and Dr. Baird was of extraordinary comfort to Paul and his family. Paul's father, Vince Watkins, commented that 'while you wouldn't ever want your child to be born with a heart problem, this worked out as best as it possibly could. God led us to the best doctors in the country, and we're grateful for the care they took of our son.'"

"The Liapis family moved to Charlotte in 1996, and baby Dimitri was born in October the following year. About twelve hours after his birth, Dimitri's pediatrician, Dr. Laramie Williams, was conducting a routine checkup on the newborn baby when she noticed shallow breathing and a grayish coloration. 'Something in my mind kept telling me to recheck him,' Dr. Williams later said. Dimitri was transferred to the NICU where an echocardiogram revealed that Dimitri was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The family was presented with three options for Dimitri--3 stage heart reconstruction, transplant or nothing (which he may have lived for a couple of weeks). The Liapis' wanted to give Dimitri the best chance at life. Since he was otherwise healthy, they opted for the reconstruction. Sanger's Dr. Larry Watts had also recently moved to Charlotte after just completing a Pediatric Residency at Toronto Children's Hospital. It was there that he was trained to perform the Norwood Procedure that Dimitri needed. Eight days after his birth, Dimitri underwent the Norwood Procedure: Dr. Watts rearranged the blood flow through Dimitri's heart so that the right ventricle took the place of the left, pumping blood to the body. A shunt was installed so blood from his heart flowed passively to his lungs, bypassing the right ventricle. Dr. Watts also grafted donor tissue into Dimitri's aorta to double its size. This first surgery was intended to allow Dimitri to grow enough to undergo further surgery later, and it was an enormous success. The compassionate care of Dr. Watts and the entire team of doctors, nurses and staff not only helped Dimitri, but his very frightened parents, grandparents and extended family. Ten days after his surgery, the Liapis' were buckling Dimitri in his infant seat for his ride home!! At six months old, Dimitri was ready for the second surgery. Dr. Watts removed the shunt that Dimitri was beginning to outgrow. He also worked to reroute the blood flow. Blood from Dimitri's upper body, in need of oxygen, was sent directly to his lungs, again bypassing the right ventricle, which had taken over the duties of the left. Since Dimitri's birth, the plan for his third surgery had changed from what they had initially thought. Dr. Watts felt very strongly about the newer surgery--feeling like it would be a better long term solution for his heart defect and less stressful on his heart. Dimitri's third surgery was to continue to address the separation of blood flow to his body, and involved inserting a Gore-Tex tube in his chest cavity to complete the separation of oxygenated and non-oxygenated blood from the lower half of his body. Ideally, they needed Dimitri to weight at least 35 pounds for the tube to be appropriately sized for his body. Dr. Watts actually put a hole in Dimitri's heart as a relief valve to help Dimitri's body adjust to the large physiological change. Six months later in April 2002, Dr. Herbert Stern used the Amplatzer device, inserted through a catheter, to close the hole in Dimitri's heart. Mom was especially scared about this procedure, but had complete confidence that Drs. Watts and Stern knew exactly what to do. Dimitri was almost four years old at the time of his third surgery, and clearly more conscious and fearful than the baby he had been for the first two surgeries. The nurses were very kind and supportive through this period. Long time NICU nurse and family friend, Alex Tatsis, would meet Dimitri at the soda machine on her break to encourage him to get him up and walking around during his critical recovery period. He was also able to spend time playing basketball in the Kids' Playroom. Today, Dimitri is a straight-A student. He loves to swim, ride his bike and play basketball. He continues to amaze his family and friends with his perseverance. Twice a year, he participates in the Mile Run, a fitness program for kids in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. With his heart defect, it would have been easy for Dimitri's parents to ask that he not participate. Quite the contrary...the Liapis' never want Dimitri to be considered "handicapped" due to his heart condition. They don't care if he finishes first or last...they just want him to finish! Every year, he has gotten stronger. Dimitri completed the last Mile Run in 11 minutes and 2 seconds! Not bad for a kid who's operating on half a heart...not to mention that his time is much faster than either his mom or his dad. We thank the doctors, nurses and staff at the Levine Children's Hospital and we are also thankful to God for all of his blessings."

"Julia Engel was born with a heart murmur, a ventricular septal defect. At 17 she was implanted with her first pacemaker. Julia and her family thought of her condition as physically limited--almost disabled. She was advised not to be really active, to refrain from running and pushing herself. In 1994, Julia changed jobs and became the patient of Dr. Colavita at Sanger Clinic. During discussions of her condition, Julia reported occasional dizzy spells, and after an AV heart block was discovered, Dr. Colavita recommended a dual lead pacemaker. Dr. Colavita also encouraged Julia to be as physically active as she wanted to be and not to see her pacemaker and heart condition as a limitation. Excited by the prospect of being active again, Julia decided to start running and cycling, and completed her first marathon in January 1996 and the MS 150 Ride in 1997. Based on her new strenuous physical routines, Dr. Colavita recommended a new type of pacemaker that would enable her to reach a higher heart rate. Two years later, while running a half marathon, Julia felt a bit dizzy and saw her pacemaker bulging from her chest. Unfortunately, a staph infection and blood clot was discovered. Julia was prescribed Coumadin, a blood thinner and caused Julia to remain hospitalized for 12 days while undergoing 4 surgical procedures and a pacemaker and lead replacement. It was 8 months until she recovered completely. Julia worked with a sports physician to focus on arm movement where the scar tissue for multiple pacemakers had developed. Despite these setbacks, Julia refuses to see herself as physically limited, and loves the thrill of competing. In March 2003 she completed a half marathon, finishing second in her age group. Julia wears a heart rate monitor while she exercises to track her progress. She has completed two 1/2 Ironman Triathlons. In July 2006, Boston Scientific, the manufacturer of Julia's pacemaker, invited her to serve on their "Patient Panel for Quality Days" in St. Paul, MN. Because each pacemaker has a unique serial number, Julia went on a factory tour and actually met the team of people who constructed her very own pacemaker. Today Julia continues to swim, bike, run and teach cycle classes at the local YMCA. She is currently training for the Ironman USA (a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run) in Lake Placid, NY on July 22, 2007."

"Jose Paul was born in the Dominican Republic in 1999 with a ventricular septal defect. When he was two years old, Jose Paul's family moved to Charlotte and Jose became a patient of Dr. Andrew Bensky. Jose Paul's condition was initially treated with medication, and his heart was monitored yearly. After five years, a routine checkup revealed an aortic valve insufficiency. Dr. Resai Bengur performed an echocardiogram showing the damaged valve was getting worse, and met with Jose Paul's family to thoroughly discuss their options. Pediatric surgeon, Dr. Christopher Baird, also consulted with Jose Paul's family, and recommended surgery to ensure the problem was fixed once and for all. Dr. Baird performed surgery on December 18, 2006. The outcome of the surgery was very positive, and according to his family, Jose Paul is even more active than ever before. Jose Paul and his family are very grateful for the kindness and consideration they received at the hospital -- from nurses in the intensive care unit to the time Dr. Bengur and Dr. Baird took to explain the risks and benefits of the procedure."

"Wynne Speir was born with an atrial septic defect diagnosed by her grandfather, a physician, when she was just 9 months old. This defect can be benign, and Wynne grew up like every other child except for visits to the cardiologist for monitoring every few years. Fast forward almost 22 years: Wynne was at home with her fiancee when she got a headache. Her fiancee asked her a question, and her response came out jumbled and confused. Puzzled, Wynne looked up her symptoms on the internet and came back with a potential TIA (trans ischemic attack), a mini stroke. Given her known heart condition, Wynne went to Dr. Richard Smith, her cardiologist, for a consultation. Dr. Smith consulted with Dr. Herbert Stern who performed a few tests and discovered that Wynne's heart was capable of shunting blood the wrong way. When the doctors went in to fix the problem, they discovered that Wynne actually had not just one hole in her heart, but several. They inserted a large Amplatzer to cover as many of the holes as possible, and hoped the others would close once the device settled. Over the next several months, Wynne suffered migraine headaches, numbness in her hand and nausea. Wynne consulted with Dr. Christopher Baird and Dr. Resai Bengur about possible treatments; and to her surprise, they recommended open heart surgery. The surgery was performed December 11, 2006. The surgery was very successful, with minimal scarring and all holes repaired. Wynne and her family are "so grateful to the physicians and staff that gave their time and attention so generously. We truly appreciate all the care and consideration given to Wynne during this entire period." Wynne will meet with Dr. Stern for a follow-up in March 2007, and otherwise is looking forward to a happy and healthy 2007 with her new husband and newly repaired heart."

"My primary care physician referred me to Sanger after a routine checkup revealed a heart murmur. Dr. William Massey diagnosed me with mitrovalve prolapse, most likely a side effect of rheumatic fever in childhood. We decided to monitor the situation, and wait to see if the valve needed repair. About a year later, I was diagnosed as having microvalve regurgitation and eventually began to experience lightheadedness and dizziness. The doctors recommended this be fixed surgically within six months for optimal results. Dr. Eric Skipper performed my surgery in February 2005, and I have been very pleased with the results. My symptoms are completely gone, and my incision was very small with minimal scarring in a totally inconspicuous area. I was released from the hospital two days following my surgery, and I feel as good as new. I feel that I am very fortunate to have been able to benefit from such advances in medical technology. I'll continue to see Dr. Massey for follow-ups, and my choice of a new valve which Dr. Skipper inserted will last for approximately 10-15 years. Until then, my family and I look forward to enjoying my quality of life!"

"When my daughter Kaylee wsa 2 months old, her pediatrician detected a heart murmur during a checkup. He referred us to Sanger, and an ultrasound revealed a small hole in her heart muscle. The cardiologists told us this is fairly common, and that mostsmall holes close up by themselvesas children grow. At her recent 9 month old checkup, the hole was almost undetectable, so we're not worried. Even if the hole doesn't close, it is so tiny it won't have any impact on her activity level or overall health. We're just so pleased Kaylee is a strong, healthy and happy baby."

Mr. Crowe first came to Sanger suffering from end-stage congestive heart failure, and underwent a successful heart transplantation in May 2002. Mr. Crowe has done extremely well post-transplant, and is back running his Peach Stand in Rutherfordton, NC. His physician, Dr. Theodore Frank, comments that "On my way to Rutherford Hospital, I often stop at Mr. Crowe's peach stand. Whenever I visit him, he always gives me a round of hugs. I am never able to leave without carrying a full box of peaches in addition to whatever jam he has on hand. Despite my protestations, he will never accept money. As a physician, it is an absolute delight to be able to see Mr. Crowe doing what he loves most. It is not often that we get the opportunity to see our patients in the "real world," and it gives me tremendous pleasure to be able to see Mr. Crowe in his element. Mr. Crowe is extremely thankful of the second opportunity that he has been given, and it is a true delight to have participated in his care and to be one of the individuals who has helped Mr. Crowe return to doing what he loves most."

Mark Ashley Owen, Jr. was born in April 2001, and the morning he was supposed to be discharged from the hospital, a nurse noticed he was breathing fast and was blue around the mouth. She suspected a heart murmur, and a Sanger cardiologist soon confirmed her suspicions. Ashley was diagnosed with 3 serious heart defects: a hole in his heart, narrowing of the aorta, and two primary arteries were transposed. At 7 days old, Ashley had open-heart surgery to correct these defects. At 22 days old, he came home. A heart catheterization revealed increasing pressure building around the aortic valve. When Ashley was 5 months old, he had surgery to reconstruct his aorta and preempt future problems. Ashley's surgery went well, and he is a happy little boy with no physical restrictions. His parents are grateful for the excellent care Ashley received throughout his treatment, with special thanks going to the Sanger doctors and the nurse who initially noticed his early symptoms.

"I have been a nurse for 48 years, so when I woke up one night with a rapid heartbeat that wouldn't go down, I knew it was atrial fibrillation. Sanger's Shelby office is right across the street from the ob/gyn clinic where I work, so I went to see Dr. Douglas Boyette the next morning. Dr. Boyette tried several medications, but ablation was what finally worked for me. I had great results, and was able to resume a normal active life. I've always had excellent care from Sanger, both in Shelby and in the Charlotte office. The pacemaker technicians are kind and very pleasant to work with. Ten years later my symptoms returned, and I had a second ablation, as well as a pacemaker implanted in 2003. My quality of life is excellent, and I am grateful to be able to continue a healthy, active life. My doctors have always said I can run circles around the younger nurses, and I don't plan to slow down anytime soon!"

"I know that I have atrial fibrillation, and was referred to Sanger's Rock Hill office. During my first incident, Dr. Nathaniel Edwards stayed with me all night to make sure I was out of harm's way. I go for check-ups 2 or 3 times a year and the doctors and staff are very courteous and great to work with. I enjoy my visits because the office is never depressing - I don't feel like I am visiting a sick environment. They are respectful of my time, and treat me promptly and kindly."

"I'm a police officer, and was shot twice while serving an arrest warrant back in the summer of 2003. One bullet hit my finger, and the other went into my chest. I was transferred to Sanger from a hospital in South Carolina because my lungs had collapsed. Dr. Mark Steigel and Dr. Ward were amazing doctors, and I have had a great recovery-much quicker than I expected. I went back to work in November 2003, and am back to living my life."

"When I was six years old, I had a heart catheterization by Dr. Francis Robicsek for a heart murmur. The heart cath determined that I had a normal heart and the murmur was just something that would be present during my life. Today you have echocardiograms to determine the significance of heart murmurs and you have heart catheterizations performed by cardiologists instead of surgeons. Years following my cath, I started working for Sanger in the Medical Records Department. When Sanger was small, each employee did a variety of jobs. Now that we have grown, it is much more specialized. I am currently the Billing and Compliance Manager and have been with Sanger more than 25 years."

"During my junior year of high school I was playing lacrosse for Vance High School in Charlotte, and there was a big game in Greensboro. My dad was there watching from the stands, and remembers seeing someone collapse on the field. That was me. I had gone into ventricular fibrillation-a lethal irregular heart beating. I didn't have a heart beat for 20 minutes-officially I had died. Luckily the school's athletic director was certified in CPR, so he kept oxygen to my brain and kept me alive until the ambulance got there. Also luckily, one of the volunteer referees was a doctor from a Greensboro hospital, and he immediately realized the severity of the situation. When the ambulance arrived the medics used a defibrillator, and I was taken to a Greensboro hospital and then transferred to pediatric cardiology at Sanger. I don't have a memory of the event-the loss of oxygen destroyed that part of my short-term memory. I woke up the next day and only remember the first half of the game. I have an ICD implanted, which keeps my heart beating regularly, and that ICD will have to be replaced throughout my life. But basically I'm a normal kid. My Sanger doctors always encouraged me to live my life-not to hold back. Now I'm in college and don't spend a lot of time thinking about my heart-I've got a lot of other things on my mind!"

"I was born with 2 holes in my heart (ASD, VSD) and I also had a rare valve defect. When I was 11 months old, Dr. Mark Stiegel did surgery to close the 2 holes in my heart. Two days later he had to take me back into emergency surgery and replace my valve because my heart was filling up with the blood that used to get out through the holes in my heart . My heart was so big that the doctors were able to insert an adult size St. Jude mechanical valve. Dr. Stiegel told my parents I was the first child to survive that surgery at my age. My heart wasn't able to beat regularly on its own after the surgery, so 14 days after my first heart surgery, I had to have a pacemaker put in. My St. Jude's valve was replaced when I was 2 years old. Dr. Richard Smith had to replace my pacemaker when I was in 2nd grade. I am currently in the 8th grade and doing great. I do everything that a normal 8th grader would do -- I love horses, swimming and dancing. I feel that the doctors and nurses at Sanger are like family. I have been with them all of my life, so when I go for a check-up I get lots of hugs. My doctors even found a hole in my mother's heart and they fixed her too. The doctors and nurses at Sanger are great! I will have to have more surgeries in the near future, but I know that my Sanger family will take care of me."

"During a routine physical my doctor noticed that my heart was out of rhythm, and sent me to Sanger. 8 months later Dr. Mark Stiegel performed double bypass surgery. Turns out I had been misdiagnosed with severe reflux for years, while all the time it was really my heart causing the problem! I now have a pacemaker, and other than regular checkups I shouldn't need any other surgeries. It has been seven years since that happened, and I'm back to enjoying my retirement!"
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"About a decade ago I was living in New York and working for a large technology company when I started to feel palpitations at night. I thought it was stress, and ignored it. Then one day at work I felt a thump in my chest- like I'd been hit hard with a tennis ball- and had a brief moment of blackness. It was very scary, and when it happened again I went to the doctor. The doctor immediately told me I had a serious problem, and had probably a year to live unless I had a heart transplant. I have read a lot about transplants, and decided it wasn't what I wanted. So I moved from New York to North Carolina, and figured I'd live out my life here. Neighbors recommended Sanger as the best clinic in town for heart problems, and I became a patient. Despite many medications, my condition continued to decline until I was so weak I could barely hold a glass of water. In 2002 Dr. Theodore Frank recommended a very new type of pacemaker, a cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker, used for the treatment of heart failure. Mine was only the fourth ever installed! After a brief recovery period, Dr. Frank encouraged me to get moving, and my life hasn't been the same since. Now I can mow my lawn, bowl with my bowling league, and am virtually pain free. I joke that it is a thrill to wash my kitchen floor, because for so long I was unable to do any of those things without utter exhaustion. I am so grateful to the doctors, technicians and nurses at Sanger who helped me get my life back. I am currently participating in two research studies-if my experience can help someone else I'm happy to do it. Happiness is a normal life!"

"2 years ago I was at the hospital preparing for a hernia operation, and as part of the screening I had an EKG. The doctors immediately asked me what I'd been doing, and if I felt anything abnormal about my heart. I said no, and that I felt fine. They told me I was in chronic atrial fibrillation, and needed a pacemaker. I had my pacemaker put in last June, and since then have had 2 cardiac ablations. All my procedures were done on Fridays, so I could go back to work on Monday. My job is very physical, and the doctors tell me that being in strong physical shape probably is what saved my life. My life is completely normal again, and while I enjoyed meeting all the people at Sanger I hope to run into them at the local Harris Teeter rather than at the hospital!"

"Back in March 2004, I was riding on a four-wheeler with a friend when we had an accident and I was thrown almost 50 feet in the air. I was conscious, but having trouble breathing. I didn't have any broken bones, but my lungs were in bad shape. My neighbor called 911, and the medics got there in about 10 minutes. They called for a helicopter to take me to the hospital. Both of my lungs had collapsed, and I was in respiratory failure. For 2 weeks I was on medicine to try and help my lungs to heal, but it wasn't working, so finally I had surgery and the doctors stitched a patch in my right lung. After the surgery my lungs began to heal, and I got better much quicker. I came home April 20th, and have been working on physical therapy to get stronger. My mother and my doctors all say it was a miracle that I survived, and that my lungs are healing. I went to the beach this summer, and I hope I can persuade my parents to take me to Carowinds!"

"A little over three years ago I suffered a cardiac arrest while exercising at the YMCA. My heart went into Ventricular Fibrillation and had stopped beating. I had an existing heart condition called "Athlete's Heart"-technically hypertropic cardiomyopathy, or enlarged heart. My heart had grown to become a little larger than normal due to much exercise and years of playing football. However, I had not been on any medication. You can say that I was very lucky, but it was much more than luck. It's a miracle that I survived. I was resuscitated by a Good Samaritan. A local physician was working out on the same floor and came to my rescue performing CPR on me and using an AED which the YMCA just raised money for. Medic arrived almost simultaneously and continued the saving process while rushing me to CMC. The state of North Carolina had just passed the Good Samaritan Act earlier in the month protecting people performing life saving acts of kindness. I have no memory of the event, or the fact that I thought Richard Nixon was still the President when I awoke. After my week's stay at CMC where Sanger doctors implanted an ICD, I returned home and eventually to my regular lifestyle. It wasn't until I returned to my advertising sales job at WSOC-TV that I realized how blessed I was, and how close to death I really came. I was what we call, a 'news story'. Originally, I thought either October 26th was a slow news day, or this must be very significant news- surviving a near fatal cardiac arrest. More than that was the way that I did such with so many positive things to fall in place. When friends at the station made me a tape of the 6:00PM Eyewitness News from that night and I saw our reporter and anchors discussing my story and providing well wishes, I welled up and realized how I almost became a statistic. My cardiac arrest gave me a new outlook on life, and inspired me to give back and get involved. I am honored to have served as a spokesperson with my family for Learning CPR from the American Heart Association, and have been active in Sanger's ICD support group. If my story raises awareness about cardiac arrest, heart disease and encourages people to visit their cardiologist and also learn CPR, I'm happy to share it."

"My wife is a nurse, so when I told her I had some tingling around my heart, even though it isn't a typical symptom of a heart attack we got in the car and headed toward the hospital. In the car I had a more typical "movie heart attack" where you go gray in the face, and once at the hospital a Sanger cardiologist brought me to the heart catheter lab. It turned out my artery was 100% blocked, and if I hadn't come in I would have died. Since then I've had 3 stents put in, and am on medication. I've also had a beta-catheter to remove scar tissue. I'm not the typical heart attack patient, and because I look healthy people are surprised to hear my story. Once or twice a week I visit Cardiac Rehabilitation with a nurse and talk to new patients who might not think they can make it. Once they hear that I've had 5 knee surgeries, 1 back surgery, a brain tumor removed, and then the heart attack, it gives them confidence that they will survive. I believe strongly in the power of positive thinking, and mind over matter: 'If you don't mind, it doesn't matter!' "

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