Heart Surgery, Now What?
I was at Aldi, struggling to get the coin out of the key chain I bought to keep a quarter for their shopping carts, when I saw a woman I know from the small town where I lived just a few months earlier. I said, “Hello!” calling her name, but she didn’t seem to realize I was talking to her. As she pulled her shopping cart free, she finally saw me, and said hello, but not like she usually does. “So you live near here?” I asked. “No, my husband just had open-heart surgery. We were on our way home from the hospital, and I stopped here to get some fruits and vegetables.”
I’ve talked to the woman several times over the last few years, and each time she was energetic and positive, but on this day at Aldi, she was distant and distracted. Learning that her husband had heart surgery made her behavior understandable. Other times, she would have stopped to talk, but she just turned her cart and headed into the store.
I have been where she is. When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, for the second time, I didn’t know what to do. I was numb and zoned out. Most of all, I didn’t know how to help my mother with her diagnosis. So many people most likely feel the same way when a loved one, or even they, are facing a healthcare crisis.
I opened the zipper on my keychain wallet and pulled out one of my cards. It has my website, email, and phone number, “Deby Jizi, Wellbeing Advocate.” Maneuvering my cart into the fruit and veggie aisle, I found her and gave her my card, “Check out my website. I have information on what to do for heart disease. I hope your husband feels better soon.” She thanked me, half smiled, and went back to picking her vegetables. It was then that I realized I wanted to help people in her situation, just as I would have wanted someone to help me when my mom was facing cancer.
In the United States, heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women, and 12% of first heart attacks are fatal. The fact that this woman’s husband is still alive and survived open-heart surgery is a stroke of good fortune, though it may not feel that way given the seriousness of his condition.
I didn’t ask her any questions when she said she was stopping by for some fruits and vegetables. Did the doctor say something about eating more of them? What guidelines did she get? What worries me is that just telling someone who has had heart surgery to eat more fruits and vegetables is not enough information to reverse the disease and restore health.
There is so much to be hopeful about when it comes to reversing heart disease, but there is a lot of misinformation, mainly from the healthcare sector, about what exactly needs to be done to restore wellness and reverse the disease. It can be confusing and frustrating when the doctor is saying one thing and other voices are saying something different.
The problem is that what most physicians tell their patients, follow the American Heart Association diet or eat more fruits and veggies, is just not enough, and many people’s lives hang on a thread, the next heart attack looming. Hopefully, patients and their caregivers will seek information beyond what they are told by the doctor. No one should feel challenged if the goal is to help the patient heal.
Because I saw how devastated she looked, and remembered my own feelings of overwhelm about my mother’s diagnosis, I came home and created a simple webpage for anyone who needs information about reversing heart disease. Heart Disease Resources is a page for anyone dealing with heart disease. It is a starting point. The one book I recommend for anyone facing heart disease is Caldwell Esselstyn’s Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.
Also, his wife, Ann, and his daughter, Jane, create YouTube videos of the recipes from the book and the Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. Dr. Esselstyn does not pull any punches. He tells it like it is. No bending the rules. A life is on the line from his perspective, and he is right.
So if you or a loved one are facing a heart disease diagnosis, I hope Heart Disease Resources is helpful. I am going to send a link to my friend along with my prayers that her husband heals quickly. I’ve been where she is, and I hope this helps her find some peace.
Peace,
