Mended Hearts Open Forum

Hi Edward!

What an amazing goal! How fantastic. Thank you for being a great supporter to others. It's truly uplifting to know we have so many great volunteers to support others through their journey. 

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Andrea Baer
Grapeville PA
(724) 396-7820
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-19-2017 09:29
From: Edward Mendes
Subject: hospital visits

In the year 2016, I made over 400 visits to heart patients in Ma.  It is very rewarding to me, my goal this year is to visit at least 500 patients.  ED

How wonderful and what a source of motivation!  Thanks for your service.  My husband and I truly appreciated the visits/chats from other heart parents while we were in the hospital.

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Arlene Britt
Santa Fe NM
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-19-2017 09:29
From: Edward Mendes
Subject: hospital visits

In the year 2016, I made over 400 visits to heart patients in Ma.  It is very rewarding to me, my goal this year is to visit at least 500 patients.  ED

Hi Edward,

great work there. If you have time I have a few questions. Are you visiting patients in their room after ICU? Are you visiting Cath lab? How about Cardiac Rehab? What is your routine at the hospital? Sorry for sounding nosy, just looking to see what the other folks are doing and how they are doing it.  

Thanks,
Dave Westerhaus

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Dave Westerhaus
Chapter 38
Houston
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-19-2017 09:29
From: Edward Mendes
Subject: hospital visits

In the year 2016, I made over 400 visits to heart patients in Ma.  It is very rewarding to me, my goal this year is to visit at least 500 patients.  ED

We have 6, soon to be 8 visitors at one of our hospitals where we visit the 2nd floor open heart patients after they are out of CICU, and the CHF and AFib patients on the 3rd floor. We have 3 visitors at our second hospital where we see mostly open heart patients out of ICU. We have 2 visitors at a third hospital where we see mostly open hearts. We also see TAVR's at all 3 hospitals, and see the Cath lab patients if they have an overnight stay.

Don Kanipe, Visiting Chair, Chapter 61, Dayton, Ohio


Original Message------

Hi Edward,

great work there. If you have time I have a few questions. Are you visiting patients in their room after ICU? Are you visiting Cath lab? How about Cardiac Rehab? What is your routine at the hospital? Sorry for sounding nosy, just looking to see what the other folks are doing and how they are doing it.  

Thanks,
Dave Westerhaus

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Dave Westerhaus
Chapter 38
Houston
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Dave,

I developed a one page visit procedure for each of the hospitals where we visit patients. It has the sign in/out steps for volunteer services, information on filling out our visit forms, where the copier is located to make a copy of the initial visit for each patient. We keep our copy of the visit form for 3 months, then shred them. We work with the nurses and doctors, especially if the doctor did our procedure. For example:

Last June I visited a patient. We both had our quadruple bypass surgery done by the same surgeon. We chatted for a while and as I was leaving he asked me, "What's the recovery time on bypass surgery?" I told him if you listen and communicate with your doctors, take your prescriptions when you've supposed to, modify your diet to a heart healthy one, and take advantage of the rehab, you'd be surprised how quickly the recovery goes, "Why do you ask?" He said his daughter was getting married in October, and they were supposed to do a father-daughter dance to Sweet Little Sixteen. I told him I was a ballroom dancer, and asked the daughter to stand up. I taught her the basic step for triple swing with an underarm turn. Then I told him, "There's no reason you can't be doing that and more come October." I left and went up to the nursing station, and there was the surgeon who did our procedures. I told him what had just transpired in the patients room, and he got all of excited and said he was going down to patients room and reinforce what I told the patient.

Don


Original Message------

We have 6, soon to be 8 visitors at one of our hospitals where we visit the 2nd floor open heart patients after they are out of CICU, and the CHF and AFib patients on the 3rd floor. We have 3 visitors at our second hospital where we see mostly open heart patients out of ICU. We have 2 visitors at a third hospital where we see mostly open hearts. We also see TAVR's at all 3 hospitals, and see the Cath lab patients if they have an overnight stay.

Don Kanipe, Visiting Chair, Chapter 61, Dayton, Ohio

Original Message------

We have 6, soon to be 8 visitors at one of our hospitals where we visit the 2nd floor open heart patients after they are out of CICU, and the CHF and AFib patients on the 3rd floor. We have 3 visitors at our second hospital where we see mostly open heart patients out of ICU. We have 2 visitors at a third hospital where we see mostly open hearts. We also see TAVR's at all 3 hospitals, and see the Cath lab patients if they have an overnight stay.

Don Kanipe, Visiting Chair, Chapter 61, Dayton, Ohio

Original Message------

Hi Edward,

great work there. If you have time I have a few questions. Are you visiting patients in their room after ICU? Are you visiting Cath lab? How about Cardiac Rehab? What is your routine at the hospital? Sorry for sounding nosy, just looking to see what the other folks are doing and how they are doing it.  

Thanks,
Dave Westerhaus

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Dave Westerhaus
Chapter 38
Houston
------------------------------

Andrea,
Me and my other 3 visitors spoke with over 1200 patients last and a lot of families in the cardiac surgery waiting room. We do make a difference with the patient and family because we've been through it.
Bill Farr
Ch 400

Sent from Bill's iPhone


Original Message------

In the year 2016, I made over 400 visits to heart patients in Ma.  It is very rewarding to me, my goal this year is to visit at least 500 patients.  ED

Original Message------

In the year 2016, I made over 400 visits to heart patients in Ma.  It is very rewarding to me, my goal this year is to visit at least 500 patients.  ED

Hi!

I think you are so right about the relief that the patient/Caregiver feels when they hear and see first hand that there is light on the other side. I know when my son was born with a CHD and I had to think about the surgery I was really scared. What helped me was talking with another "heart mom" and seeing her son thriving. Hearing that he had the same heart defect as my son brought me a lot of hope. 

Have a happy "First day of Spring"

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Andrea Baer
Grapeville PA
(724) 396-7820
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2017 09:22
From: John Sherrick
Subject: hospital visits

Good Morning from "Sweet Home Alabama"! It's great to be on the Green side of the planet.

I am also a visitor and it is rewarding to see the relief on family members when I tell them the patients surgeon was in fact my surgeon and I am doing great 2 years after my heart event.

John Sherrick

Huntsville Chapter 260

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID

I had a single bypass of the LAD (Left Anterior Descending) 41 years ago when I was only 32 years old. It was scary for me and my wife as we had 4 young children, 1 thru 6 years old, the two older were adopted, followed by two biological that were rather unexpected. I had had an angiogram on Tuesday followed by emergency surgery on Friday at Hartford hospital in CT. There was no official Mended Hearts chapter there in 1976, but the preop nurses could see we were very nervous so asked if we wanted someone they knew to visit who had been thru the surgery there. We said "Yes" and both the husband and wife came in before my surgery. It was very helpful for both of us. Everything went well, but the emotions were high, and I went thru the usual phases of "Why me? Why so young? Boy, I'm all cut up! This is tough to get thru! How long can I live after this? Some depression but happy to be alive! Then a gradual recovery and happy to be able to lift and hold my 1 year old son again!

41 years later now, and I've been totally normal, never had any cardiac restrictions, and my family's all grown up.

Back in 1976, my wife and I became good friends with the couple that had visited us, as they had 5 children and were doing fine. Next we met others they had visited and found out from one person about the Mended Hearts organization, because that person had been visited when they had their surgery in Boston, MA.
So a few of us met and decided to start Chapter 9 in Hartford, CT. My original visitor, Doug Sato became the first chapter President, and I became the second President for 1 year, did 9 years of visitations, then stopped to let others take over, since I had to help my wife manage our teenagers.

I think the visitations helped me get over the my question of "Why me?" And also helped me heal and live a normal life.

2 years ago, I faced Cancer, the same one as Lance Armstrong, the biker. I went thru 3 months of Chemo, where my Oncologist said, "We to kill you 3 times, but you survived." I think what helped me survive was going successfully thru the heart surgery, which gave me the strength to look beyond the 3 heavy Chemo treatments, and look forward to my 97% chances of being free of it. John Violette, CY

Sent from my iPhone


Original Message------

Hi!

I think you are so right about the relief that the patient/Caregiver feels when they hear and see first hand that there is light on the other side. I know when my son was born with a CHD and I had to think about the surgery I was really scared. What helped me was talking with another "heart mom" and seeing her son thriving. Hearing that he had the same heart defect as my son brought me a lot of hope. 

Have a happy "First day of Spring"

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Andrea Baer
Grapeville PA
(724) 396-7820
------------------------------