President's Message
Sharon Feldman
Hi
Everyone,
Can you believe summer is almost over? It was a great one. Your Mended Hearts friends have been busy putting together some really great programs for everyone to enjoy.
I wanted to fill you in on the national convention, held in Bloomington MN in May. It was a great learning experience. We met so many people from other chapters around the country. All of whom were upbeat and ready to go back home and really take their chapters to new heights. The enthusiasm was infectious.
At one of the luncheons, our speaker was Joe Piscatella. He’s made the rounds of the morning shows for years (although yours truly had never heard of him before). He had a fascinating story to tell. In 1977 at the age of 32, while playing tennis he had some chest pains and shortness of breath which went away as soon as he stopped playing. This went on for a month. Then, the next time he played tennis the pains and shortness of breath didn’t go away and so he went to see his doctor that afternoon. He wasn’t worried because just four months before he had had a complete physical and everything was fine. The doctor listened to his lungs and told Joe his lungs sounded fine, but as long as he was there he would give Joe an EKG. When he saw the results of Joe’s EKG, the doctor was so upset, that he personally drove Joe to see a cardiologist. That same day after a stress test and the results of his angiogram came back, he was told by the cardiologist that he had major blockages in three of his arteries and surgery was his only option. Two days later he was undergoing bypass surgery.
After getting home and recuperating, Joe wanted to find a way to stop the progression of his heart disease. This was in the days when there were no statin drugs, cardiac rehab, stents or beta blockers. He went to see a specialist about his high cholesterol (250) to find out what he should do to lower it. He asked if changing his diet, and doing more exercise would help. The specialist told him not to bother: “Frankly, I’d be surprised if you live to be 40. The chances of seeing your children graduate from high school are slim.” Joe and his wife were devastated. He was depressed for awhile until his wife spoke up. She told him that “true he couldn’t change the cards that he was dealt, but they could change the way they played those cards.” She said that “they were going to do everything possible to eat healthier and exercise more effectively to even up the odds.” It was the only choice they had. Very slowly things began to change. Joe’s cholesterol, blood pressure and weight all were going down. His doctor was so impressed that he told them to let him know how they did it, so he could tell his other patients. The result was the “Don’t Eat Your Heart Out Cookbook”. In 2009, to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of his bypass, Joe and his wife climbed Mount Rainier. This year Joe celebrated the 33rd anniversary of his bypass surgery, and is probably the oldest living bypass survivor in the country and possibly the world.
He and his wife were able to experience the joy of seeing their daughter and son graduate from high school, college, law school and graduate school, walking their daughter down the aisle and making a toast at their son’s wedding, playing with their four grandchildren and celebrating 42 years of marriage. Quite Impressive!! He was just one of the many speakers we were privileged to hear speak. Next year the Convention will be in New Orleans, June 1-5. Hope you too can join in on the experience in 2011.
“Our Stars” is a new tab on our website. In it we have tried to thank everyone who has helped us over the last year. See if your name is on it. If we’ve left anyone out, please let us know and we will correct it.
Look for the Blog Tab (top of page on the right) at www.mendedhearts.org. Our picnic is featured there.
For those of you who were at the Heart Walk you might have seen a gallery of 12 life sized photos of “heart and stroke survivors.” One of the survivors was our own Bob Peri looking very handsome in his hunting clothes. Congratulations, Bob, on being chosen.
The Senator Jim Alesi Health & Fitness Fair will be October 7th. On November 9th and 17th the annual Health & Benefit Fairs will be held at Harris RF; and on November 13th the MVP Diabetes Health Education Day will be held at the Rochester Academy of Medicine. We always have a fun time at the Fairs, so let me know if you can help staff our AHA/Mended Hearts booth at any of these locations for a couple of hours.
On June 20th, 2011, your chapter will celebrate its 45th anniversary of bringing hope and support to people who have heart problems and/or surgeries. We’re planning on having a luncheon to celebrate. Raul Fernandez, MHI National President has already told us that he will be attending. Instead of a restaurant we were thinking that it would be great if we could hold the event at a Rochester country club. If anyone is a member of a local country club and would be willing to sponsor us, please let one of the Board Members know.
Get well wishes go out to Gary Honeyford, Bob Joyal and Frank Wojciechowski.
I look forward to seeing you all at the September 20th meeting.