BONDED BY HEARTS

Ali Schultz is no stranger to heart disease.

After undergoing several tests at Florida Hospital Waterman in November 2010, she learned she had 98 percent blockage in four arteries. Ali was airlifted to a hospital in Orlando and underwent openheart surgery.

The surgery took an emotional and physical toll.

“Open-heart surgery is one of the most brutal surgeries a person can experience,” she says. “I had a difficult time coming to grips with why this happened to me. Also, I had always been a very independent woman and hated that I could no longer do the things I wanted to do. And my chest pain from the incision lasted a pretty long time. It took me a full year to get back to normal.”

Now, Ali uses her experience to support and reassure others making the same recovery from a heart procedure. She serves as president of Florida Hospital Waterman’s Mended Hearts chapter, a national-based organization that offers hope to heart disease patients and their caregivers. The group, which formed in August 2011, meets at the hospital on the second Tuesday of every month at noon.

During each meeting, Ali tells patients they can continue living full, healthy lives postsurgery. “This is a great group because a patient can listen to what others have endured and identify with them,” says Ali, who worked as a registered nurse for 36 years.

“It is important that cardiac patients can communicate with and open up to others who understand what they’ve been through. We also invite their caregivers so they can talk about their difficult roles.”

While patients openly share their triumphs and struggles, the program also includes educational forums. Ali invites guest speakers such as doctors, clergymen, and nutritionists to discuss heart disease and provide physical and emotional coping tips. “Our patients learn something new at each meeting. The more knowledge they gain, the better they will do in the recovery process.”

Mended Hearts members also visit hospitalized patients who have recently undergone open-heart surgery or stent placement. They talk to the patients about the Mended Hearts program and let them know they’ll have support during the recovery process.

“One of the things I tell my members is they need to stay in the group to help others who are coming in,” she says. “When new members see others who have made full recoveries, it gives them hope. Although our program is small, we are still growing. I know everyone appreciates this program is available.”