Tips to Stay Healthy   Meditation to calm down and alleviate stress. Guided Imagery to visualize your heart and body healthy. Walk 60 to 90 minutes three days a week and get a walking partner Use positive self-talk words and statements. Exercise and yoga are excellent for stretching. Omega 3 Fatty Acids as a supplement and eat fish twice a week. Antioxidant vitamins C and E

Open Heart Surgery?  . . . But I Feel Fine

Doctor Berndt looked at me without expression when he matter-of-factly said I had about six weeks before a massive heart attack would strike. I suddenly got all quiet inside. He went on to explain that a normal aortic valve is 2.5 square centimeters (cm2) and mine was only .6, and continued aortic valve stenosis (closing) would cause a heart attack.

“How could that be? I protested. I’ve had a murmur since my teens and I’ve felt just fine. I have no chest pain and I’m not short of breath.”

“Are you feeling tired?” he asked.

I began trotting out excuses like a pony in a pasture. “Not really. I’m a single mom, I just finished up Christmas and, naturally, I’m tired. Why, just last week, I went cross-country and downhill skiing, and to aerobics class twice.”

“It’s not uncommon for a person to not show any symptoms until it’s too late. . . .”

Aware Doctor Berndt was talking, I really didn’t comprehend a thing he was saying. My focus was on my ten year old daughter, Mariah. She had already been through so much with me. After surviving a plane crash and countless failed relationships, I adopted a daughter at an age when most women were sending their kids off to college. The three of us, Mariah, me and my cat were a family and I felt complete. But life sent me into a tailspin when I was diagnosed with Stage 3 melanoma. Love for Mariah gave me the strength to battle the “Big C”, and win.

Driving back from the doctor’s office in Reno, Nevada to my home at Lake Tahoe, I tried not to think about the grim reaper staring me down, preferring to ruminate on what drove me to push for the appointment to see a cardiologist. I had no obvious symptoms, other than recurring dreams directing me to see a heart specialist. I knew from past experience my intuition was very sensitive and would nag me, even in my sleep. This time I paid attention and transferred my records from my small town doctor to, Doctor Berndt, a Reno cardiologist. He initially told me I was in excellent health, but my intuition drove me to ask for an echocardiogram and a physical work-up. The tests revealed my aortic valve was failing.
I tried to make sense of why this was happening, but my mind was a jumbled mess and all I could feel was fear. Before I left his office, Dr. Berndt gave me names of five top heart surgeons. When I heard the name Doctor Gaudiani, I said, “Stop. He’s the one,” absolutely certain he would be my lifesaver.
I knew from past experience to put a plan of action in place immediately. I meditated every morning, afternoon and evening, always including my mantra “Perfect Health, Perfect Surgery, Perfect Recovery”. I taped large sheets of butcher paper to my sliding glass doors and, when I became fearful, I penned positive statements on the paper: I am strong, I love my daughter, I am woman , hear me roar ─ whatever it took to keep me positive. I asked my friends to place my mantra into their thoughts and prayers, got massages for my body and ate only natural foods, fruits, vegetables, juices, vitamins ─ all unprocessed. I practiced guided imagery to envision my heart healthy and whole, and meditated three times a day to keep myself calm. Modern medicine is amazing, but only part of the solution.
Dr. Gaudiani of Pacific Coast Cardiac and Vascular Surgeons was reassuring, professional, and confident. I would eventually learn he was one was one of the best heart valve surgeons on the West Coast. He gave me a choice of either a mechanical valve or tissue (pig) valve. I intuitively chose the pig valve. He agreed it was the best choice.

Doctor Gaudiani’s office called within two days to say there had been a cancellation and my surgery was scheduled March 1 at 6:30a.m. I gasped, disconnected the phone and collapsed onto the nearest chair. How could this be happening again? That month and day had awakened memories of two life-changing events. I had already survived a fiery DC-10 plane crash on March 1, 1978 and Stage III Melanoma on March 1, 2002. Now I was facing open heart surgery on March 1, 2006!  I had only one week to prepare myself, to raise my confidence and insure that I would be a winner coming out of surgery, to stay on target and ensure I would remain alive to raise Mariah, and to be in the best possible shape for my medical team

I entered the hospital a day early to have a heart catherization. When I was rolled into surgery the next day, my team of doctors and nurses were positive and focused. My sense of well-being and confidence was as comforting as the heated blankets wrapped around my body.
The next I knew I was in Intensive Care. I felt pain in my chest, but I was elated to know I was still alive. During my week in the hospital, it was hard to breathe and to cough induced tears. My voice would fade out in mid-sentence. As a motivational speaker, I was terrified of losing my voice which meant losing my livelihood.

My doctors said the right attitude was essential to my healing. I visualized my heart pumping flawlessly, and said, “Perfect health – Perfect surgery – Perfect recovery”. My mindset was focused on living. I knew recovery would take time, but as a single mom, I had my support team, my friends and my family.