stories by Beth Langefels of the American Heart Association Lexington
Special thanks to Jennifer Maggard of Macy’s and Janie Ohmstead of Images Model Agency
Natalie Brawner
“Although sharing personal details has been challenging, I realized how a traumatic event in my life can be turned into something positive.”
On February 9, 2018, with a violent gasp for air as a tube was extracted from my throat, I reentered a drug-induced state of semi-consciousness. With my mind swirling in confusion, I slowly began to piece together the events from the days before which had begun when I drove two and a half hours from work to a regional hospital where my daughter was having tests run.
When I got to the hospital I, too, wasn’t feeling well. After leaving my daughter’s ER room multiple times to conceal how I was feeling, I was stopped by a nurse. After hearing my symptoms, she insisted on having me admitted to the ER. Given I was only forty and generally healthy, I was stunned when the second round of cardiac labs came back elevated. After an excruciating night of pain in my chest, both arms, left shoulder, neck, and jaw, the cardiologist informed me that I already had a heart attack. All my grandparents and my father either had heart bypass surgeries or heart attacks.
I entered the cath lab, and the last thing I remember is hearing that I had a 99% blockage. Later, I learned this was from a condition known as Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD), where a tear in the inner lining of an artery forms and can block the artery. The SCAD caused me to go into cardiac arrest, and I received four stents in three coronary arteries, critical care for ten minutes, including CPR and seven shocks to my heart. I was on life support with a heart pump for 24 hours.
Since my time in the hospital, I have been motivated to improve my physical and mental well-being, which started with completing cardiac rehabilitation. I have received excellent follow-up care and confirmed I have no permanent heart damage.
As I reflect on this year’s events, I am convinced this was a well-orchestrated plan, and I thank God for more time. I count my blessings for the love and support of my husband, and our children, as well as my family, friends, co-workers and neighbors.
I have become involved with the American Heart Association and as a Commonwealth of Kentucky employee, I have worked with the Kentucky Employees’ Health Plan to spread awareness to state employees. Although sharing personal details has been challenging, the feedback I have received has made me realize how a traumatic event in my life can be turned into something positive by encouraging others to educate themselves on heart attack symptoms, to listen to their bodies and seek medical attention.
Carol Russell
“I owe it to myself, my husband, my children, my grandchildren and everyone else in my life to take care of myself.”
My name is Carol Russell and I have a family history of stroke.
While training for the New York City Marathon in September of 2010, I received a devastating phone call: at the age of 59, my sister Peggy had died from a massive stroke.
How could this be? Peggy was tall, slender and beautiful. I had seen her just four days earlier and she was fine. While her doctor had told her she had suffered a couple of mini strokes a few months earlier, we never expected to lose our witty and vivacious Peggy.
After my sister’s funeral services, I tried to resume my marathon training, however my legs felt like lead and my heart was simply too heavy. I had to accept that the NYC marathon was not in the cards for me that year. I thought about my family. My father had died of a massive stroke at the age of 55 and his mother was in her mid-40s when she had a stroke that left her permanently disabled. My eldest brother died of a heart attack at the age of 59.
When I eventually started running again, I had my heart set on qualifying for the Boston Marathon. A few months after Peggy’s death I signed up for and ran in the Kiawah Island Marathon. During the entire 26.2-mile course, I felt more grateful than ever to be alive. I held Peggy’s spirit deep within my heart throughout the race. During that race, I finally qualified for the Boston Marathon, which I ran in April 2012.
This summer while going through my junk email I noticed an application for the New York City Marathon. I applied and was accepted. So here I am, eight years later, where I was when Peggy died. I’m finally training to run a marathon that has always been on my bucket list.
After losing my sister, I don’t take my health for granted and listen to my body. Peggy looked like the picture of health, but she didn’t exercise. We must be mindful and pay attention to warning signs and trust our intuitiveness when things aren’t right. I owe it to myself, my husband, my children, my grandchildren and everyone else in my life to take care of myself. I’m overwhelmed with how blessed I am and I Go Red!
Gale Bhattacharyya
“I was very lucky: My heart is a perfect match for me.”
My name is Gale Bhattacharyya. When I was 33 years old I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart muscle. My father died at 36 and my brother at 30 of the same disease. My younger sister also has it. In our family, cardiomyopathy is an inherited disease.
I am the oldest of eight children and when my father died, my youngest brother was not yet born. We knew my father’s cause of death was heart related. Eventually it was given a name and it was then that doctors told us cardiomyopathy was running in our family.
I was a Kindergarten teacher and I noticed I was becoming fatigued rather quickly. At one point, I almost fainted so I was compelled to go to a doctor who ran tests and made an appointment with a cardiologist.
All my life I have known that I needed to exercise and eat healthy, I didn’t drink or smoke because I knew that I could inherit this disease. When I found out that I had cardiomyopathy, I was even more cautious about taking care of myself.
After my diagnosis, I kept teaching because I loved what I did, but it was intense work. About 15 years ago, my heart health started to decline. I was in congestive heart failure and needed a pacemaker. I greatly reduced my teaching hours until nine years ago, when I had to end the career I loved completely.
I travelled with my husband, visiting our children and grandchildren, we went to 20 countries. Congestive heart failure sounds very bad, but you can do a lot of things. I just had to pace myself and conserve my energy whenever I could.
In June of last year, I was deteriorating and needed a heart transplant. I knew it was time. But you can’t do it alone. I got my heart on June 28, 2017. I was in the hospital for 18 days afterwards. My husband and daughter stayed with me every single night.
I was very lucky: my heart is a perfect match for me. It came from a 28-year-old young lady from Bowling Green who was in an accident in Pittsburgh. Her mother and sister wanted her organs to go back to Kentucky.
It took awhile after my transplant to recover but through therapy I eventually built back my strength. I had to change my diet and exercise, but all these things are minor compared to the gift I got of a new heart.
Karen Kline
“I’m 62 and a nurse that ignored my symptoms for nearly seven months. I was a walking heart attack and should have known better.”
My name is Karen Kline. I’m a nurse and an Army veteran. In February of 2017, I was experiencing a lot of stress in my life from a death in the family and an ever-demanding job. I began having some chest pain and pressure, which I naturally attributed to my stress. By June, I was waking up at night with terrible chest pain that came with shortness of breath and an abnormal heart rhythm.
I ran into a colleague that took one quick look at me and immediately asked me what was wrong. He marched me upstairs to put me on a two-week event monitor. My primary care physician sent me in for a stress test which came back negative.
I have a family history of heart issues. My father had a massive heart attack – he died at 47 - and because of that and my high cholesterol, my doctor ordered a CT scan.
The CT scan revealed that I needed a heart catheterization. I chose to have it done right where I worked, as I was confident it would get done right. I ended up having a large occlusion in my right coronary artery, which was promptly stented.
I’m 62 and a nurse that ignored my symptoms for nearly seven months. I was a walking heart attack and should have known better. Women, especially women nurse veterans like me, make ourselves the last priority. I was in the Army, raised two kids, and I was afraid because I knew enough about what could go wrong in surgery.
I realized I was doing a job that was making me miserable and I wanted to live my life differently, so I made a change.
Today I’m very blessed and in a great place. My blood pressure and cholesterol are under control thanks to medication, and I am managing my stress. I enjoy spending time with my 5 year-old granddaughter!
Life is good now and I’m so proud to work at Lexington’s VA Medical Center.
Tenesha Peyton
“Stroke is the number five killer of all Americans... I’m working hard to live a healthy lifestyle and I’m blessed to be here.”
My name is Tenesha Peyton, I’m 35 years old and I’m a stroke survivor.
I was born with an irregular heartbeat and inflammation around my heart, but grew out of both issues as a teenager and had no problems as a young adult.
On Christmas Eve in 2017 I was driving and turned at a stop light. I noticed my vision was blurry. I took my glasses off to clean them and realized I couldn’t see. I rubbed my head, and everything started spinning. It was very intense, but it quickly went away.
Later, I mentioned this to my mom and my sister and they urged me to go to the doctor, but I didn’t go. A week later, it happened again but this time, I felt nauseous and my head hurt too. I called my doctor, who became worried and urged me to go to the emergency room.
When I got to the hospital, the nurse took me back immediately and checked my blood pressure. I mentioned I wasn’t on any medication. They rushed me back, saying I was having a possible TIA, which I had never heard of. My blood pressure was extremely high and they finally told me I was having a mini stroke.
One week later, the same thing happened, and I rushed to the hospital. I went into hypertensive crisis three times and had three additional mini strokes.
I made an appointment with a cardiologist and we worked on medication for my blood pressure and I take aspirin daily to protect my heart. No one knows what caused everything to go so bad so quickly. But within 90 days of my first mini stroke, I had a 90% chance of having a major stroke.
I still get dizzy and there are a few things that linger, but for now, I’m doing fine. My high blood pressure is the cause of my issues with stroke but thank goodness, with medication, it’s fixable.
Stroke is the number five killer of all Americans and the number one cause of disability. But I have excellent doctors and medication that help keep my blood pressure under control. I’m working hard to live a healthy lifestyle and I’m blessed to be here.
Kyla Thompson
“I know I have a special heart. But I’m OK with that!”
My name is Kyla Thompson. I’m 13-years-old and I’m a heart survivor.
When I was born, everything seemed normal. Just one day later, a nurse in the hospital noticed that my fingernails were blue. My dad saw that my skin looked dark. After examination, the doctor informed us that I had a heart defect called Tetrology of Fallot.
I had to have an operation the very next day. My surgeons placed a shunt in my chest, and it would stay there for nine months while I waited for my bigger surgery.
My mom said it was a rough start for me because we were in and out of the hospital every few weeks. My lips still turned blue and I had trouble breathing. After I had my surgery at nine months old, I started doing much better.
When I turned 8, I was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Then, when I was in fifth grade, at the age of 11, I found out I would have to have a valve replacement.
That was three years ago. Today I am doing much better. I play volleyball, I am on the dance team and I recently won the national Heart of Service award at the Miss America pageant, which was really exciting!
The greatest news is, I may never need another surgery if everything continues to go well with my heart.
I have a pretty normal life – like any other 13-year-old girl. I know I have a special heart. But I’m OK with that!
Jamie Lynn Robinson
“After something like this happens, it’s natural to look at life differently. Every day is a gift and I thank God for my life.”
My name is Jamie Lynn Robinson and I’m a stroke survivor.
On July 21st of this year, I woke up in the middle of the night and was paralyzed. I couldn’t talk or wake my husband, so I rolled out of bed and hit the floor. My husband woke and picked me up off the floor. When I saw his face, I knew I was having a stroke.
He ran to get our adult daughter who remained calm and confirmed I was having a stroke. She held me until the paramedics arrived to take me to the hospital. When we arrived, my entire right side was paralyzed, and my arm was curled up and stiff.
I remember arriving in the emergency room and immediately being taken back for tests and scans. Several MRIs and CT Scan revealed a blood clot in my heart that had traveled to my brain. Surgery was necessary to remove it.
The surgery was successful, and the clot was removed in three pieces. I was monitored for an irregular heartbeat, but there was no sign of it. The next day my husband brought in a small exercise ball, so I could start squeezing it and I started recovering, hour by hour.
I remained in the hospital for the next five days.
I’m a hair dresser by profession and, to be honest, I didn’t think I would ever be able to use my right arm again. At home, I continued my exercises and now I’m back to work and using my arm normally.
After something like this happens, it’s natural to look at life differently. I now see the good in people. Every day is a gift and I thank God for my life. I have two daughters and a six-year-old granddaughter and I treasure my time with them.
I thank all my doctors and nurses for their expert care. Without them, I wouldn’t be here sharing my story today.
Whitney Stevenson
“In my job, I advocate for children and families daily. It was time for me to do this for myself.”
My name is Whitney and I’m a heart disease survivor.
In the spring of 2016 when I was 42 years old, I made an appointment with a cardiologist to get a second opinion about issues I was having with my heart. I was experiencing shortness of breath and chest pressure, so the doctor scheduled a stress test, which I failed. It revealed that I would need to have a heart catheterization.
I remember the initial procedure very clearly, and the cardiologist coming into my recovery room reporting there were no blockages, and everything looked good. My stress test, therefore must have been a false positive. While I was relieved with this news, I continued to have symptoms and my medications were still being adjusted. I decided to get another opinion.
Since I’m a married woman with children, work full time, and am a doctoral student, I’m often told that the daily stress in my life was causing me to be anxious and that I needed to find ways to de-stress.
After finding another cardiologist, my medications were changed again, and I was told they were going to monitor me closely. Shortly thereafter, the cardiologist I was seeing left the practice and I was assigned to yet another doctor.
In my job, I advocate for children and families daily. It was time for me to do this for myself. For me that meant asking to see a female cardiologist.
In February 2018, I saw my new cardiologist for the first time. The next month, I went to the ER with chest pressure and shortness of breath. During my follow up the next week, my doctor ordered another heart catherization, with a second surgery done a few weeks later. During that procedure, blockages were found in my small vessels and I was diagnosed with microvascular heart disease.
Today, I wear a nitro patch every day and continue taking additional medication. My cardiologist saved my life with a new heart catheterization procedure brought about by research. My heart story has empowered me to be an advocate for women’s heart disease.
Jayne Morgen Breeze
Jayne Morgen Breeze was born on a bright sunny day in the summer of 1987. In fact, she was born on her due date, July 25th at 4:10 pm. The amniocentesis that was performed while she was in utero showed that she was a normal female. But after her birth, that normalcy did not continue.
All was well for the first 24 hours. The next day Jayne’s pediatrician informed her parents that a heart murmur had been detected by a nursery room nurse. He said it was not a major concern but to be on the safe side, he had ordered a chest x-ray, EKG and an exam by a pediatric cardiologist, thus entered Dr. Carol Cottrill into Jayne’s life. She informed Jayne’s parents that the congenital heart defect was indeed not normal and that there was not one thing, but three things wrong with her heart. Within an hour Jayne was transported from Central Baptist Hospital where she was born to the University of Kentucky where she would undergo an operation to repair her heart.
Dr. Carol Cottrill and Dr. Edward Todd, the cardiothoracic surgeon, both assured Jayne’s parents that she had three things in her favor going into the operation; she was over seven pounds in weight, she was full term having been born on her due date, and she was female. She was given a 50/50 chance of surviving the operation which lasted 7 ½ hours. Her aortic arch which was in two pieces was grafted back together and a band was put on her pulmonary artery to restrict blood flow. Nothing was done with the multiple holes in her upper and lower walls of her heart. Those holes would be repaired in the second operation which would be performed when Jayne was between the ages of 2 to 4.
The second operation came sooner than later. Jayne grew faster than anticipated and the graft on the aortic arch was starting to restrict the flow of blood. In June 1989, the family flew to Rochester, MN to the Mayo Clinic for out-patient testing and for the operation at St. Mary’s Hospital. On September 19, an eleven hour operation was performed to replace the graft on the aortic arch, to remove the band on the pulmonary artery and close the holes in the walls of her heart. The operation was successful and the surgeons said that probably a third operation would be needed when she was a young adult.
At the age of nineteen, Jayne underwent a heart catheterization to see if a third operation was needed. It was not. She continues to see her cardiologist on an annual basis to monitor the heart.
Jayne is now 31 years old and despite some of the road blocks that she has experienced due to her heart condition, she has developed into a charming young lady who is compassionate and loving. Her determination to succeed has been an inspiration to her family and friends. Dr. Cottrill, who died in 2017, had always said that Jayne’s strong will to live has been the major factor in her survival. Jayne definitely “Goes Red for Women!”
The Deatons
“All four of my daughters are positive for a heart defect that happens to be one of the disorders that causes sudden cardiac death.”
My name is Chris Deaton and my family is living with heart disease.
I have five children – four daughters and a son. All four of my daughters are positive for a heart defect called Brugada Syndrome, a condition that causes disruption of the heart’s normal rhythm. It also happens to be one of the disorders that causes sudden cardiac death.
The first indication that there may be a problem in my family was in April of 1995 when my brother passed away in his sleep. Because it was thought that this was related to his heart, my brother, sister and I were all given EKGs. My brother Jeremy had some issues and was given a defibrillator.
My sister and I were cleared with no indication of a heart problem. But a year later, my sister started having unexplained fainting episodes, so she received a defibrillator. They tested me again and I was still negative.
In March of 2000, I was on an airplane and my heart stopped. I went in and out of consciousness three times. We made an emergency landing in Memphis and did all the normal testing but couldn’t find any issues. They flew me home and I got a defibrillator.
These are my girls. My oldest daughter, Tara, was born in 1995. In 2008, she passed out in the bathroom. We knew there was a good chance it was cardiac related. That Monday morning, we took her to her pediatrician, who referred us to a pediatric cardiologist. We brought all our daughters in and we had genetic testing that came back positive for the genetic mutation that causes Brugada. Only my son was negative.
In 2009, Tara got a defibrillator and then my next oldest daughter, McKayla, got hers. My two youngest daughters, Camryn and Emma, have been asymptomatic so far, but may get defibrillators in the future.
It took my brother’s death to alert us that something was wrong. Genetic testing told us that this came from my mother’s side, but you don’t know it’s there until you see it and when it shows up, it can be life changing.
Camryn and Emma may never need defibrillators but as a parent, how do you measure this information? How will we know if they will wake up in the morning? We just need to trust that God will take care of them and that organizations like the American Heart Association are leading the charge on trying to understand these things better.