Mended Hearts Open Forum

Andrea happy Saturday! I have been observing various meaningful communications on your new forum for several months but my first time to communicate myself. I have been a Mended Hearts member in West Houston for about 5 years. During the last 18 months I have been a trained certified visitor, usually visiting 7 to 20 patients per week. I have a long history of heart disease commencing when I was 35 in 1974 with a triple bypass. I was instructed by my heart surgeon, the famed Dr. Denton Cooley at Texas Heart Institute that I must eat right, exercise 5 times per week, and sell my bank if. I wanted to see my youngest son, who was then 5 years old grown. I took him seriously and did sell my bank immediately as well as 12 other businesses I owned. I also started exercising in the gym at least 5 times per week and eating right. However, professionally I wasn't so good as I opened 52 retail stores as well as consulted among other positions in that industry. It wasn't until 2010, some 36 years later that I needed another open heart procedure. This time it was 5 bypasses done by the best complications/redo doctor in the business, Dr Greg Matter at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. Then, after 2 stents in early 2014 I had my third open heart surgery which was a triple bypass in May of that year again done by Dr. Matter who had relocated to Paris Texas. After 21 years of being a bachelor following my second widowhood I got married last December to the love of my life. Fortunately my health is excellent and I have relocated to Georgetown, Texas where my new wife already had a home. I plan to start a new Mended Hearts chapter in this central Texas area early in 2018 as I have experienced what Mended Heart visits mean to patients that have just had a heart procedure. My wife and I are going to be attending the MH national convention and training forum in Nashville starting July 3rd. I am so thankful for the active life and lifestyle that I have been blessed to enjoy and I intend to continue sharing it with others that have heart issues. Kindly, Sam Bowman