The Power of Emotional Support During 'A Change of Heart'
I had 'a change of heart.' How often we say that phrase. But on April 29, 1995, the phrase took on a new meaning that has changed my life forever.
A disease of my heart muscle had gotten worse. One moment I would be fine and the next I would have difficulty breathing. My body retained fluid, which backed up into my lungs. Early in 1995 I put my life in the hands of the Lord and doctors at Hopkins. That decision felt right because a quiet voice within said I was not alone. I could always turn to friends for support.
After only two months, Hopkins called: 'We have a heart for you.' We immediately called family to tell them of the impending operation. I had compiled a list of people to be notified. This list was divided between two close friends to spread the news and they would act as information sources for others.
We arrived at the hospital, entering through the emergency room. The preparations began there with a quick medical checkup and chest x-ray, and then onto a portable hospital bed pushed by my doctor, out the back door, into the tunnels under Hopkins, up an elevator, onto a hospital ward and into a room to wait. The donor was in Salisbury and the team had gone to get my heart. Their positive report came back mid-afternoon. My husband Jim started the phone calls letting our families know the news. I was excited and stressed and shared with my family over our portable phone, just before the operation.
A friend joined my husband and son at the hospital. I had called my sister earlier that day. She called later, got no answer, and immediately flew to Baltimore. Another friend, a nurse, talked her way into a hospital cap and gown and came to the operating room door to wish me Godspeed.
Still another friend called the couple hosting our church's progressive dinner with the news. They joined me in prayer and in a way were on my journey, too. In the operating room, my new heart immediately started to beat and I was reborn about 8:00 p.m. By 9:30, when the dinner guests were gathering for desert, I was back in my room.
On the second day of recovery, my husband brought the portable phone, my only link with the outside world. I was able to call my daughter, and Mom and Dad.
By day three, I was walking but still needed the protection of washed hands and face masks when medical personnel and visitors entered the room, but I could now talk on the regular phone with my friends. On the seventh day after my change of heart I went home.
