Lessons of the Heart

By Jennifer Snead Chavez

I suffered a heart attack three years ago. Well, suffered is the word people seem to use most often, but it doesn�t really describe my experience. While it was unpleasant, a tad scary, inconvenient and eye-opening, there was very little suffering on my part. In fact, I think there was a considerably larger amount of suffering for my husband, who was on the outside looking in. My heart goes out to him.

Lately, I have been reflecting on what I�ve learned from this unwanted episode that I now see as a blessing. (Really, I do.) I thought I�d jot a few insights down:

• If you don�t have your health, you don�t have anything. That may be clich�, but it�s very true.
• When your intuition says something is wrong, it probably is. Listen to the messages your body and mind are sending you.
• Get your cholesterol checked.
• Nurses are the BEST. They can make or break your hospital experience, and the numerous nurses I had treating me were wonderfully kind and compassionate.
• Ambulance rides are not nearly as fun as you think they�re going to be.
• A good EMT is crucial. �I didn’t have a good one, and by the time we reached the hospital, my blood had sprayed everywhere, I had faulty information from the tests done enroute to the hospital, my blood pressure was higher than when we started, because the EMT screamed, �Hurry. �It�s an emergency!� over my head, and my husband almost lost his mind giving the driver directions to the hospital.
• Naps are my friend.
• Every moment with my kids is precious. I think I knew this before my �little incident,� but it�s crystal clear now. �Enjoy every moment, even the small ones. That�s the key to a happy life. Also, tell them and the rest of your family you love them. Say it every day. Even if they roll their eyes, say it. It�s important.
• Nothing tests a relationship like a major crisis. My husband was a rock star during the whole experience. People keep asking me what he did that was so amazing, and the best way I can describe it is to say that he went through everything with me. I was never alone and never afraid, because he was right there with me.
• God does exist. I am not a particularly religious person, but I do believe in God, and I felt him there with me. �There really wasn�t a time I thought this was it for me. I probably should have, but I think God gave me the peace I needed to make it through.
• When you come out of a major heart procedure, don�t tell them you feel pain in your heart. That will only panic everyone, and they�ll do the whole procedure again. I�m glad they did it, because it�s better to be safe than sorry, but YIKES� it�s no fun! That mistake leads me to another lesson. A good spouse will sit there and hold the vomit bag for you all night, if necessary. Mine did. �
• It�s times like this that you find out who your friends are. �It takes a village, and my village was there for me. I am so grateful for each and every one of them.
• Elderly people are fun. I now have five 70-something �boyfriends� I work out with three days a week at cardiac rehab. I have been privileged to get to know them while we walk next to each other on treadmills. Without this incident, I would have never met these folks, and I�m so glad to know them.

In a nutshell, here�s what I�ve learned:

• Love and Be Loved
• Appreciate
• Slow Down
• Say Thank You
• Be Grateful

These seem like simple lessons, and maybe that�s the key. It�s not difficult to be happy. �Your heart knows what you need. Trust your heart.