385 Magazine Summer 2020

Our People • Our Stories

Summer • 2020

Three•Eight•Five

Get Comfortable After all, it’s going to be a long summer!

Enhance comfort and reduce energy costs with our efficient cooling systems. Our licensed technicians guarantee expert installation service at a great price.

Heating & Cooling • Plumbing • Duct Cleaning HVAC Maintenance • Complete System Replacement

931-526-5023

315 Transport Dr. • Cookeville, TN CharlesStoneMechanical.com

2•385•Our People•Our Stories

What’s Even Better Than the Best Care?

The Best Care Delivered Safely!

A

t Cookeville Regional Medical Group, we know that now, more than ever, the stakes are high when you or a loved one are sick.

That’s why all of our physician practices are taking additional sanitizing precautions, continuing to screen employees and patients upon entry, and keeping several other measures in place to make sure we can safely welcome patients who arrive for in-person visits.

Patients can receive care knowing that CRMG is going above and beyond to protect them by offering...

Telehealth Visits

Simply call us to make an appointment.

Clean Environment

A frequently cleaned environment when you enter.

Physical Distancing

Once checked in, patients wait in their cars until exam time.

Screening

We are screening all employees and patients upon entry.

Protective Equipment

Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by all staff and patients.

Cookeville Regional — CARE YOU CAN COUNT ON. + GASTROENTEROLOGY 931-783-2616 438 North Whitney Ave.

+ NEUROLOGY 931-783-4901 128 North Whitney Ave.

+ INTERNAL MEDICINE 931-783-4600 128 North Whitney Ave.

+ NEPHROLOGY 931-783-2902 145 West Fourth St. Ste. 102

+ FAMILY PRACTICE 931-783-5848 128 North Whitney Ave.

+ UPPER CUMBERLAND UROLOGY 931-528-5547 320 North Oak Ave.

+ PULMONOLOGY 931-783-2143 145 West Fourth St. Ste. 201

+ FAMILY PRACTICE 931-783-4557 120 Walnut Commons Ln. Ste. B

+ ENDOCRINOLOGY 931-783-2648 406 North Whitney Ave. Ste. 3

+ CARDIAC, VASCULAR & THORACIC SURGERY 931-783-4269 406 North Whitney Ave. Ste. 5 + COOKEVILLE REGIONAL URGENT CARE CLINIC 931-783-5353 340 North Cedar Ave.

crmedgroup.org Summer •2020• 3

385

Volume 4•Issue 4

Staff

Publisher

Jack McNeely jack.mcneely@herald-citizen.com

Editor & Graphic Designer Don Foy don.foy@herald-citizen.com

Contributors Lindsay Pride Jim Herrin Paige Stanage Ben Wheeler Ben Craven Ad Composition Becky Watkins

Advertising Roger Wells Shaina McNeely Dusty Smith Stephanie Garrett Business Manager Sandy Malin Circulation & Distribution Keith McCormick Ronda Dodson

from the

Editor We’re just past the halfway point of 2020 and already it’s been a year to remember. Or forget. A deadly tornado. A pandemic. Riots.

I’m afraid to ask what else this year has in store.

So let’s all relax and enjoy a good magazine. In the summer edition of 385, we want to tell you about a Cookeville mother who juggles her job as a personal trainer, another job as a school development director and being the mother of an adopted Down Syndrome child. It’s a heartwarming story of achievement.

Ever wonder what a game warden does? You’ll find a story about a day in the life of a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officer.

And last, but not least, we feature an Upper Cumberland potter who wanted to help tornado victims by selling daffodil mugs she made. She ended up being overwhelmed by the demand and donated more than $1,000 to the relief fund.

We thought it was time for some inspiring stories and some good news. We hope you like them.

385 Magazine is a publication of and distributed quarterly by the Herald-Citizen, a division of Cookeville Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored for retrieval by any means without written consent from the publisher. 385 Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited materials and the publisher accepts no responsibility for the contents or accuracy of claims in any advertisement in any issue.

385 Magazine is not responsible for errors, omissions or changes in information. The opinions of contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine and its publisher.

Our mission is to promote the 385 zip code areas of the Upper Cumberland and to showcase their many attributes. We welcome ideas and suggestion for future editions of the magazine. Just send us a brief note via email. © 2020 Herald-Citizen 385 Magazine P.O. Box 2729 Cookeville, TN 38502 931.526.9715 Email: 385Magazine@herald-citizen.com

4 •385•Our People•Our Stories

Don Foy, Editor

TWRA agent Chris Argo talks about his job enforcing the state’s laws on waterways and wildlife.

on the

Cover

JACK MCNEELY

PUTTING UNDERSTANDING INTO ACTION FOR YOU

FirstHorizon.com

Main Office

345 South Jefferson Avenue Cookeville, Tennessee 38501 (931) 528-2561

West Cookeville

Checking Savings & CDs SBA Loans Bill Pay Mobil Banking Services Retirement Planning Mobil Deposit Auto & Mortgage Loans Merchant Services Personal Loans

389 West Jackson Street Cookeville, Tennessee 38501 (931) 528-4980

Sparta 469 Bockman Way Sparta, Tennessee 38583 (931) 836-3277

Summer •2020• 5

Contents Wild Life

Daffodil Relief

8

23

Balance?

Ever wonder what a game warden does? Paige Stanage tells the story of Chris Argo, an officer with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

16

Busy Cookeville mother of four, including a special-needs child, says there’s no such thing.

Cookeville artist Susan Stone was surprised by the response to her donation of proceeds from the sale of daffodil mugs.

Photo Galleries

30•

Red, White & Boom!

32•

Run for the Wall

6•385•Our People•Our Stories

34•

Why I Love…

Cookeville — Leo McGee

Summer •2020•7

8 •385•Our People•Our Stories

Wild Life Being a TWRA agent is not your regular 9-5 job

Summer •2020•9

Cookeville Boat Dock manager Carl Nash, left, tells TWRA Officer Chris Argo his concerns over boaters who don’t follow the “no wake zone” sign near the marina.

It’s something different almost every day in the life of a Tennessee Wildlife Resources agent Story by Paige Stanage Photos by Paige Stanage and Jack McNeely What’s it like living day-to-day as a Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officer?

Chris Argo, who has been a TWRA wildlife officer for just over a year, said it’s a little different from a regular 9 to 5 job. Full-time wildlife officers work the usual 40 hours a week, if not more, and a lot of those hours happen on the weekends.

10•385•Our People•Our Stories

“For me, I get up and the first thing I do is check the weather,” Argo said. “Because the weather dictates what I’m going to do for the day. If it looks like it’s going to be a nice day, and I believe there’s going to be a fisherman out on the river or lake, then I’ll go and plan my day around that.”

He said the primary purpose of

wildlife officers is to enforce hunting, fishing and boating regulations within the state. But it’s so much more than that.

“There’s a lot to it, like public outreach,” he said. “That can include hunter safety courses and boater safety courses. We also go and visit with the schools, and we’re always trying to get folks involved in the

TWRA agents Jason Miller and Chris Argo.

Summer •2020•11

Miller and Argo patrolling on the lake.

outdoors, whether it’s hunting, fishing, boating or anything outdoors.”

Officers also help wildlife habitat biologists gather data for their research projects. This is important to determine different hunting seasons in Tennessee.

“We help a lot with wildlife surveys,” said Argo. “Like right now,

12•385•Our People•Our Stories

we are doing a turkey poult (baby turkey) survey, which involves going out and counting the number of poults per hen turkey. That helps our biologists establish hunting seasons accurately, so we’re not over-harvesting wildlife. It helps us maintain a sustainable population.”

Wildlife officers also help people

who need assistance dealing with wild animals that stray onto their property. Argo said this is a common occurrence during the summer season.

According to the TWRA website, officers can’t directly assist landowners with capturing wildlife because of the large numbers of those ani-

Summer •2020•13

mals. But animal damage control operators, permitted by TWRA, can assist landowners in trapping and/ or removing nuisance wildlife at the landowner’s expense.

“Recently, we’ve had a lot of calls about black bears in the area,” Argo said. “Most of the bears we see here are juvenile males that are roaming away from their parents and trying to find a place of their own. So we’ve seen a lot of movement in Algood and Brotherton Mountain, and generally the places on the edge of the plateau.”

Argo said that out of all the hats a wildlife officer wears, his favorite is the public outreach.

“Just getting out and talking with folks and seeing how their day is going is the best part,” he said. “And of course, the kids are a lot of fun, too.

Seeing them out fishing or hunting makes my day.”

•385•

14 •385•Our People•Our Stories

Officer Jason Miller, left, listens as Cookeville Boat Dock owner Frida Gaw explains the importance of marina personnel having good relationships with wildlife officers.

It is your life, your story, leave your Signature on it.

Providing Signature Service 24 hours a day

931-526-6384

crestlawnmemorial.com Summer •2020•15

BALAN CE? Busy C ookevil l e mom Stor y b says y Li ndsay

Pride P hotos b y Jack McN

eely

there’s n o such t h i ng

Sarah Jessica Parker’s character comically tries to balance work and family in the film, “I don’t know how she does it,” but real life working mom of four Casey Overstreet says there’s no such thing.

Working as development director for Highland Rim Academy, a personal trainer, business owner, preacher’s wife and co-chair of Habitat for Humanity’s biggest annual fundraising event, Overstreet said her priority is being a wife and mother of four kids 12 and younger, including a child with Down syndrome.

“My typical response, there’s no such thing as balance,” Overstreet said. “It does not exist. You just have to set your priorities and put everything in alignment with that and be flexible.”

Overstreet met her husband, TJ, at First Baptist Church when she was 14. The two started dating a couple of years later, married in 1999 and moved to Murfreesboro.

“TJ was working for Rodgers Group,” she said. “That’s when we were at the height of our infertility

16•385•Our People•Our Stories

Casey and TJ Overstreet with children Will, Oli, Ike and Catey.

journey. I worked in mortgage lending. That was a stressful time.”

“We had gone through four years of infertility when we found out we were pregnant with Will (now 12),” she said. “The day we found out we were pregnant with him, we were going to the adoption agency in Murfreesboro.”

Having been on the brink of adoption once, the Overstreets revisited the idea again when their firstborn celebrated his first birthday.

“I was filling out the application packet for adoption,” she said.

“There’s a checklist of conditions that you’re willing to accept, cleft palate, heart murmur. We’re in the car, and I’m asking TJ as I’m answering, and I said Down syndrome, and he said yes.”

Knowing TJ’s brother had Down syndrome, Casey said, “I just prayed about it. It seemed like the Lord just kept popping up instances of Down syndrome in my life, to remind me of what a blessing it is.”

Eventually, what medical conditions the Overstreets would be willing to accept became “Why don’t we just pursue a child with Downs?

“I googled Down syndrome adoption, and I found Reese’s Rainbow, which is a non profit that facilitates the adoption. They have a waiting child listing. I’m scrolling through the faces, and I get to his face. Oli dictated the country.”

Oli, short for Oliver, was at an orphanage in Ukraine, so in July 2010, Casey sent an email to their social worker, and by April 2011, the Overstreets were traveling to an orphanage about 45 minutes outside of Ukraine’s capital, Kiev.

“He turned 1 the week we adopted him,” Casey said. “We took custody of him on a Monday, and then the following Friday was Good Friday.

Then I found out I was pregnant.

Ike was born in December 2011, so we were a family of four for eight months, and all those eight months I was pregnant.

“I call those the blurry years,” Casey said of having three kids under the age of three. “Definitely the next

Casey Overstreet trains client Paige Grinspun. two years were all good, but I kept a blog during Oli’s adoption.”

“I remember the days when I had Ike in the carseat and Oli on my hip and Will,” she said. “I remember being so overwhelmed.”

But she’s never forgotten some advice from another mom walking down the steps at the YMCA. “She has four (kids), and I said, ‘I don’t know how you do it,’ and she said, ‘You just have to do it.’”

“Oli was such an easy baby,” she

said. “He didn’t have any heart conditions. He was just a healthy boy.

He did have to have tonsils, adenoids, tubes.”

Overstreet said Oli didn’t get the typical amount of attention a baby gets during the first year since he was in an orphanage.

“When we brought him home, he slept through the night,” she said.

“He hit milestones way, way late, but that was fine. We saw progress every single week, so we didn’t stress. He Summer •2020•17

18 •385•Our People•Our Stories

Summer •2020•19

couldn’t even sit up when we brought him home. He weighed 12 pounds.”

Through pregnancies and adoption, Casey began pursuing another career that continues to be part of her life — helping women reach their fitness goals.

“I started working part time at Curves, a fitness center for women,” she said. “I loved it. The next thing I knew I was managing that club, then both clubs in Murfreesboro. I ended up purchasing one of those, then we found out we were pregnant (with Ike).”

Casey gave that business to her manager, and the family moved back to Cookeville, where Casey and TJ continued as distributors in the Advocare business that helped fund Oli’s adoption and Casey continued her journey toward becoming a personal trainer.

“I’ve always enjoyed fitness, played sports growing up,” she said. “I enjoyed specifically empowering women in health and fitness. I only train women and coach women. My

education and reading specifically focused on women’s health, women’s fitness, I enjoyed that. I taught a few group fitness classes at the Y, but I really felt like I could be more impactful to spend more time with a woman while she’s exercising.”

That led to Casey’s earning a certification as a personal trainer, weight management specialist and fitness and nutrition specialist.

“I just have a handful of personal training clients,” Casey said. “That’s so intentional. I don’t want to create another job out of it. For me, that’s an outlet. As long as I can keep a few women I feel I can give my best to.”

A typical day for Overstreet during the school year begins at 4:30 a.m., either working out at the YMCA or at home, sometimes followed by a personal training session with a client before heading to her full-time job at HRA, some days a training session at lunch or after school before having dinner with her family.

“We’re diligent about sitting together for dinner,” she said. “A lot

of my running around and juggling is during the day. TJ might have responsibilities at night, as a pastor, he might be working an event at the church.

“I didn’t have that growing up (dinner time), so it’s important to me now,” she said. “TJ did. It’s a common place for him. I just love it. I’ve had to learn how to cook. I’ve learned to enjoy some things. The kids much prefer nights when TJ cooks. They’ll say, ‘What’s for dinner?’ I’ll say, ‘Don’t worry, dad’s cooking tonight.’

In addition to being a working mom, Casey also gives back to her community through co-chairing Habitat for Humanity’s biggest annual fundraiser, Cooking on the Square.

“So I love fundraising,” she said.

“I discovered that when we were helping build the Heart of the City Playground. I just got such a kick out of it. Pam Ealey asked me to chair cooking on the square. Catey (her youngest child) was a baby. I did that and loved it.”

Obstetrics and Gynecology 1080 Neal St, Cookeville | (931) 520-1529 womenshealthservices.biz

www.leslietowncentre.com

20•385•Our People•Our Stories

Dinnertime is a priority in the Overstreet household. From left are Will, Ike, TJ, Oli, Casey and Catey.

The love and success of fundraising for Habitat led to her position as development director with Highland Rim Academy.

“What I love about my job, by investing in this one ministry here, we’re raising servant leaders to impact non profits in the world. I thought, I could not only invest in the school where my kids spend the majority of their time, I could help and grow and improve things here but at the same time, I could help

create these servant-minded leaders that will impact the world for the glory of God.” So how does she manage working and volunteering with being a wife and mother?

“It really is how I’m wired,” she said. “I’m not competitive with other people per say, but it’s more I have to teach myself to rest and remember that is just as important.”

Casey enjoys reading as well as something she likes to help other

women do — exercise.

“Exercise for me is stress relieving,” she said. “During this quarantine time I have found that I really love walking in our back field. I love to listen to podcasts or sermons or I have an app where I can listen to scripture. That’s been such a gift. I’m actually going to be sad when life returns to full speed and those days are fewer.”

Casey said she doesn’t worry about being the perfect mom.

“I don’t do that,” she said. “If your kid gets a lunchable for lunch because you forgot, it’s okay.”

And although she never predicted she’d be a mother of four, Casey said, “I get such a kick out of my kids, I love seeing them love each other and be good to each other, I never envisioned myself having four kids. I’ll never forget the first time I took them all to the grocery store by myself. I felt like I’d conquered the world.”

•385•

Spread Love, Generosity, and Kindness

As we sit here contemplating how exactly to write this article on the eve of Father’s Day, our first Father’s Day without your gentle smile, we realize no combination of words can ever truly express nor capture how deep our love for you was nor how wonderful a man you were.

in

Clay County

Instead, we know you would want the focus of this article to not be about you, but rather focus on encouraging others to mirror your traits of love, generosity, and kindness in order to help the greater good especially in these unprecedented times.

on beautiful

Dale Hollow Lake

You don’t have to travel hundreds of miles away for your vacation. We’ve got beautiful surroundings right here at home. Come see us in Clay County, no more than an hour-and-a-half’s drive from anywhere in the Upper Cumberland. Shop and eat with us while you’re here.

You’ll like what you see in Clay County.

DaleHollowLake.org 424 Brown St., Celina, TN | 931-243-3338

You sowed these seeds, Dad, through years of volunteerism. You raised a guiding eye dog, tended to the animals at the Cookeville/Putman County Animal Shelter, taught Tennessee Tech students and elementary students the art of archery, drove patients to their medical appointments, and gathered and delivered food to the local pantries.

You would say spread love, lift the spirits of others, rescue a sheltered animal and give them a wonderful home, teach the next generation a hobby or skill you are passionate about, and lend a helping hand to someone in need.

You would remind us to always have a great day, give thanks, take nothing for granted, be strong and courageous, and to “lay down our burdens for Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal” *.

We love you always Dad! *Lyrics by CROWDER

Summer •2020•21

Daffodil Relief Story and Photos

Paige Stanage

22•385•Our People•Our Stories

Cookeville artist surprised by demand for mugs to benefit tornado relief Susan Stone is a regional potter who used her niche to help the lives of those who were affected by the March 3 tornados when she donated proceeds from her creations to the Putnam County-Cookeville Tornado Relief Fund.

Stone expected to sell only a few of her popular, seasonal daffodil mugs and donate those proceeds to the fund. But the orders kept coming in.

“The daffodil is one of my seasonal designs, and this year I felt like I would use that to kind of help with the tornado aftermath,” Stone said.

“So what I did was give all the proceeds from all my daffodil mugs to the tornado relief fund.”

She expected to sell about 10 or 12 mugs, but requests kept popping up, and she kept crafting.

“I ended up giving about $1,100 to the fund because people kept asking for them,” she said. “They knew what our area went through and wanted to help.”

She said her friends and followers from all over the country ordered the mugs — people from as far away as California, Oregon and Texas.

Stone creates functional stoneware pieces, like mugs, plates, bowls, plat platters, honey pots, vases and utensil jars and sells them from her home studio.

“I throw and form different types of clay, primarily white stoneware clay,” she said. “I usually decorate the pieces with birds, flowers or things like that, with really happy colors and simple designs.”

She free-hand paints each of her pieces without the use of stencils. This allows her to feel more connected to her creations from her studio. Her daffodil pots are no exception.

“I always had an interest in art and creating,” she said. “As a kid, I was always doodling on things that I wasn’t supposed to, like my walls Your Pets

Home Home Away From

Our mission is to provide a comfortable, clean, safe environment for your pet so they will enjoy staying with us when they can not stay at home!

3213 Cookeville Highway, Livingston • 931.498.3228 www.creaturecomfortspetretreat.com

visit us at VCAhospitals.com to sign up for a FREE pet health exam!

3207 Cookeville Hwy, Livingston • 931.498.3153 Summer •2020•23

Susan Stone forms a vase.

Whether a business has been open for one year or a hundred years - It’s always good to

shop local!

Herald-Citizen

Be Good At Life® Andrea V. Burckhard

LUTCF®, CAP® Registered Representative offering securities through NYLIFE Securities LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Licensed Insurance Agency.

1300 Neal Street • 931-526-9715

In Business for 118 Years

24 •385•Our People•Our Stories

In Business for 18 Years

Agent, New York Life Insurance Company 320 E. Broad St, 1A • Cookeville, TN Office 931-525-LIFE(5433) • Cell 931-265-1959 www.AndreaBurckhard.com

In Business for 16 Years

or furniture, or playing outside in the mud.

“I guess I just watched a lot of PBS art shows back then,” she said. “I remember one day they featured a clay artist and I was just watching him thinking, ‘That is so cool. I would love to do something like that one day.’

Stone took that curiosity and passion with her while she attended the Appalachian Center for Craft, where she graduated in 1999.

She took a few odd jobs before she could build her studio and pursue clay artistry full-time. She officially opened for business in 2006.

“I always have to be creating, always,” Stone said. “Just to keep my hands and my head busy. I knew this was something I wanted to do for a long time, but I didn’t know you could actually make a living. It’s tough, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She sells her items online through her website, susanstonedesign.com.

“I work out of my studio in my home and do not keep business hours because I live in a residential neighborhood,” she said. “But about twice a year, I host open studio sales.”

•385•

LIVINGSTON

Regional Hospital

H I G H P O I N T H E A LT H S Y S T E M • • • •

Stone throws and forms different types of clay, primarily white stoneware clay.

PUTNAM

1 MERCANTILE BANK ST

•

Behavioral Services Birthing Center Cardiopulmonary Department Clinical Laboratory & Pathology Critical Care Unit

• • • • • •

Diagnostic Imaging & Radiology Digital Mammography Emergency Services Inpatient Rehab Occupational Medicine Outpatient Rehab

• • • • • • •

Preventative Health Services Rehabilitation Sleep Lab Surgery Services Womens Center Wound Care Clinic Orthopedic Services

315 Oak Street • Livingston, TN 38570 • (931) 823-5611

200 West Jackson St., Cookeville 931•528•MERC(6372) www.1stmerc.net

Putnam County Strong!

Summer •2020•25

CRMC Now Offering

Watchman Device Implantation ™

ProcedureProvides ProvidesNew New Procedure Optionfor forAFAFPatients PatientsWho Who Option Can’tTolerate TolerateBlood BloodThinner Thinner Can’t C

ookeville Regional is proud to announce that it now offers implantation of the Watchman™ Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device, which can reduce the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Patients with AF have an increased stroke risk due to clots that can form in the left atrial appendage (LAA), a small chamber in the top of the heart.

“The LAA is a little embryonic remnant that hangs off the side of the left atrium of the heart,” said Dr. Christopher Adams, an interventional cardiologist with Cookeville Regional and Tennessee Heart. “Basically, it’s like the appendix of the heart — it doesn’t do anything that we know of for sure — but blood clots can easily form •385•Our 26 People•Our Stories in there when you have AF.”

While these clots can usually be prevented with anticoagulant (blood-thinning) medications such as warfarin, in some patients, these drugs can cause bleeding issues.

“Not every patient can be on blood-thinning medication, because maybe they’ve had a bleed in the past, such as a brain bleed, a stomach bleed or a GI bleed, or they have recurrent falls, or they don’t tolerate their medication well and it makes them feel poorly,” said Dr. Adams.

These patients are usually advised to discontinue prescription blood thinners and to only take aspirin, which is not nearly as effective as blood thinners in preventing clots and subsequent strokes, according to Dr. Adams. The Watchman Device offers a new, more effective option for these patients.

The tissue grows over it completely over the course of a few months, and then people can be off blood-thinning medication for the rest of their lives.”

–Dr. Christopher Adams

Dr. Adams, who has extensive training in the use of the Watchman Device, will be assisted in performing these procedures by Dr. Mark Wathen, an electrophysiologist at CRMC, and Dr. Stacy Brewington, a cardiologist at CRMC. “The procedure is imagery guided, with patients having a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) before, during and after,” said Dr. Adams. “The TEE involves putting a little tube about the size of your pinkie down the throat to get a high-resolution view of the heart and make sure the LAA is the appropriate size and that no clots are present.”

The Watchman Device, which is shaped like a parachute, sits in the left atrial appendage and blocks it off from the rest of the heart.

Surgeons enter through a vein in the leg and deploy the device in a procedure that typically takes 45 minutes to an hour. Patients are usually able to go home the next day, and recovery is minimal.

Patients are then placed on blood-thinning medication for around 45 days after the surgery or until the heart tissue begins to grow over the device.

“The tissue grows over it completely over the course of a few months,” said Dr. Adams, “and then people can be off bloodthinning medication for the rest of their lives.”

With the addition of this procedure, Cookeville Regional now offers all three pillars of a strong structural heart program — Watchman,

MitraClip™ and TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement).

“This was what we were hoping for over the past year,” said Dr. Adams. “We were wanting to move our TAVR program forward, make Mitraclip available to patients, and then also start offering the Watchman implant. You don’t see many communities of our size able to do all of these things.”

For more information about Cookeville Regional’s Heart & Vascular Program, visit crmchealth.org/heart-vascular.

PHYSICIANS REFERRAL LINE:

931-783-2571 or 877-377-2762

What You Need to Know About AF… …and How Cookeville Regional Can Help WHAT IS ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (AF)?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or quivering of the heart that can increase the risk of stroke, blood clots, heart failure and other cardiac complications. The American Heart Association estimates that at least 2.7 million Americans are living with AF. During an AF episode, the upper chambers of the heart (atria) beat irregularly so that they are not able to efficiently move blood into the ventricles. When the blood pools in the atria instead of flowing normally, it creates an increased risk that a clot will form and enter the bloodstream, lodging in the brain to cause a stroke. Patients with AF are often prescribed blood thinners to help decrease this risk.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF AF

Some people with AF have no symptoms, and the condition is

•385•Our 28 People•Our only discovered during Stories a physical examination. For those who

have symptoms, the most common one is a fluttering or quivering heartbeat. According to the American Heart Association, other symptoms may include…

• General fatigue • Rapid and irregular heartbeat • Fluttering or “thumping” in the chest • Dizziness • Shortness of breath and anxiety • Weakness • Fatigue or confusion • Fatigue when exercising • Sweating • Chest pain or pressure

TREATMENT Options Medications

Your physician may prescribe one or more of the following medications to help control AF. • Beta blockers • Calcium channel blockers • Antiarrhythmics • Anticoagulants

Cardioversion

If your heart has an irregular (uneven) beat or is beating too fast, cardioversion is a way to restore a regular rhythm. Abnormal heart rhythms are called arrhythmias.

There are two kinds of cardioversions. Your doctor may give you one or more medicines to bring back your regular heartbeat. This is called pharmacologic (chemical) cardioversion. Doctors also restore regular rhythms by sending an electrical shock to the heart. This is called electrical cardioversion.

• Arrhythmias may prevent blood from circulating properly to your heart and brain.

• Most often, doctors use cardioversion to treat a fast, irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter.

• If you have electrical cardioversion, you’ll get medicine to put you to sleep so you don’t feel the shock.

Catheter Ablation

Catheter ablation is a procedure that uses radiofrequency energy to make a scar on a small area of heart tissue that is causing rapid and irregular heartbeats. Making a scar on this tissue helps restore your heart’s regular rhythm. The procedure is also called radiofrequency ablation.

• Catheter ablation may be an alternative to treating heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias) instead of medications.

• Medicines help to control the abnormal heart tissue that causes arrhythmias. Catheter ablation scars the tissue and takes away its ability to cause an arrhythmia.

• This procedure takes place in a special hospital room called an electrophysiology (EP) lab or a cardiac catheterization (cath) lab.

The procedure can take as little as 30 minutes or as long as six hours, depending on the type of ablation.

The Watchman Procedure In this procedure, the left atrial appendage is closed to eliminate the need for long-term anticoagulation (blood thinners) in patients with the following indications: • A history of recurrent falls • Inability or difficulty maintaining therapeutic range on warfarin • Intolerance of warfarin or oral anticoagulants • Occupation/lifestyle with increased bleeding risk • Avoidance of triple therapy

To find out more about AF and to get the help you need, visit www.tnheart.com or call Tennessee Heart at (931) 372-0405.

Cryoablation

Cryoablation is performed to restore normal heart rhythm by disabling heart cells that create an irregular heartbeat. During this minimally invasive procedure, a thin, flexible tube called a balloon catheter is used to locate and freeze the heart tissue that triggers an irregular heartbeat.

Summer •2020•29

RED WHITE

&

BOOM Paige Stanage captured these images of the fireworks show July 4, billed as the largest in the state this year.

30•385•Our People•Our Stories

CITIZENS BANK 51 E. Jackson Street | Cookeville, TN | 528.1999 www.citzcar.com

Summer •2020• 31

RUN FOR THE WALL

The Diiorio family, from left, Jon, Gabriel and Amanda, wait for the riders.

Photos by Paige Stanage

Helping families receive peace of mind since 1930.

Speck & Livingston Funeral Homes and Cremation | Livingston, TN | SpeckFuneral.com 32•385•Our People•Our Stories

Denise Stouder, right, greets riders as they arrive in Cookeville.

Summer •2020• 33

Why I Love…

Cookeville Story, Photo by Jim Herrin What do you love about Cookeville?

“The community itself. I love the people. The people here are just different, and the attitudes of the communities within the university are slightly different from other communities. I picked up on that right away.

When we moved into our new house, people came by and brought us cakes and pies and stuff. They didn’t chase us out. They brought cakes. Plus, having lived in urban areas, I wanted to be out in the country a little bit.

Even right now, there are deer and turkey in my neighborhood that I just really enjoy. Some 40 years later, we’re still here.”

What do you think of protests going on in America and the current state of race relations in Cookeville?

“I don’t spend a lot of time on protests. My emphasis is on the positive side of race relations. There is a good side. My philosophy now is to talk about all the positive relationships across racial lines. (A theme of McGee’s latest book, “Letters of the Heart.”) Anything I write now of any consequence is going to be about positive relationships across racial lines. My daughter would probably (disagree), but I’ll just say you do your thing and leave me alone.

How did you get involved in gardening?

From the lady I worked for in high school as a yardman.

She taught me. I hated hydrangeas back then because I spent all day digging up hydrangeas and trying to move them and get water to them. It was July, and it was hot, and the ground was hard as a rock. But one day I saw some at Chuck Johnson nursery and I decided I’d buy two of them. And then I just kept planting and planting and planting.

Leo McGee

We’ll make sure you’re covered all the way down the line. Or trail.

Contact me to make a plan that lets you focus on being good at life.

Insure. Prepare. Retire.

34 •385•Our People•Our Stories

320 E Broad St. | Suite 1A | Cookeville, TN Office 931-525-LIFE(5433) | Cell 931-265-1959 avburckhard@nyl.com

Andrea V. Burckhard LUTCF®, CAP® Agent, New York Life Insurance Company

Be good at life.

Summer •2020• 35

36•385•Our People•Our Stories