My origin story: I was born in Wolverhampton, England. In 1969, I moved to Bermuda with my friend Sylvia, and worked there for three years as a nurse in the Emergency department at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, Bermuda. I then moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and worked for three years as the head nurse of the Intensive Care Unit at Presbyterian Hospital. I moved from Albuquerque with Sylvia to Nanaimo in 1974.

My age: I’m 79, but some days I feel 50.

Occupation: I’ve lived in Nanaimo for 45 years, and worked at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for 25 years. I worked in the ICU and was a nursing supervisor at the hospital. I retired in 2001.

My heart health experience – as told by Barbara and her friend, Sylvia

Barbara: My heart problems happened when I was on vacation in Hawaii with Sylvia. I’d never had any heart problems before that time. In fact, I’d had a full medical two weeks before the trip and everything looked fine on the ECG that I had done at that time.

During our trip in Hawaii, I experienced chest pains and shortness of breath. I thought it was heartburn, so I took Tums and it relieved the chest pain. Then two days later, on May 5, 2012, we were waiting in line to see a show at the Hilton Hotel in Honolulu. We’d walked two miles to get there – and I felt fine. Then I suddenly felt like three elephants had jumped on my chest. God, the pain! And I looked at Sylvia and said, “I’m having a heart attack.”

Sylvia: We found a seat and sat down in a corner. I found a hotel employee and asked them to phone 911. By that time, Barbara was lying on the floor and she felt awful. Believe it or not, all during our trip, Barbara had been in the ocean for a swim every day so she could have had an incident like this in the water!

Barbara: I remember when the paramedics got there. They crouched on the floor next to me and did an ECG. I asked to read it and I said, “I’m having a big heart attack!” The paramedics gave me two aspirins and the next thing I remember is one of them asking if they could pick me up. They picked me up in a chairlift, and I asked politely, “Can I put my arms around you?” and then I passed out. I was gone.

Speeding to the hospital

Sylvia: When we were going to the cardiac hospital, which was 15 minutes away, we were told “Buckle up it’s going to be a rough ride!”

Barbara: In the ambulance, I do remember lying on the stretcher. And I actually heard one of the paramedics say, “I’ve lost her blood pressure and she’s got no pulse.” In my death state, I could hear that.

Sylvia: I heard it, too, from where I was sitting in the front seat. There were two paramedics in the back with Barbara. And I remember that as we pulled up to the hospital, all the emergency staff had been alerted and were waiting outside for the ambulance. It was just like a scene out of an American TV show! I thought, “They must have sent her ECG through.”

I also remember that Barbara had had a money belt around her waist when she was standing in line while we were waiting to get into the show. So, as they were taking her away on the stretcher at the hospital, I called to her and said, “Moneybelt!” And she heard me, clicked it off and handed it to me. And another thing: Barbara was receiving all this treatment but we weren’t asked about insurance until we got to the hospital. I showed them Barbara’s papers and we were covered.

Lengthy angiogram procedure

Barbara: Then I was taken to the cath lab (cardiac catheterization lab) where I had an angiogram and had three stents put in. During the procedure, two vessels were damaged. They originally said the procedure would take 45 minutes and it ended up taking five hours.

I was taken to the ICU after the procedure. I was kind of dead, but they revived me. My heart attack occurred in the left anterior descending artery. I was very lucky because the hospital was right there and the cardiologist was a wonderful guy.

Sylvia: Barbara was in the ICU two days, then she was put into the step-down unit, a cardiac unit. She spent three days in the hospital because she wasn’t allowed to fly due to her oxygen level and her blood work not being right. After she was released, she went back for a checkup once, but we ended up having to spend 10 extra days in Hawaii. The total was $128,000 for her seven-day hospital stay. And actually, one of our friends from Nanaimo flew to Honolulu to help me out.

Recovery hits a roadblock

Barbara: After we got home to Nanaimo, I felt fine until the day after July 11, my birthday. I started having chest pains. I took some Nitro, but there was no change, so I called a friend to take me to hospital in Nanaimo. The next day, I was taken by ambulance to the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria where they were sending me for an angiogram. It turns out I was having chest pains because my arteries were starting to occlude or narrow. They wouldn’t let me go home and kept me under observation for two weeks, waiting for open heart surgery.

After having my surgery cancelled three times, I finally had open heart surgery on July 26. I had two bypasses, and was supposed to have five, but my heart vessels were too small. After surgery, I stayed in hospital for three days, then another friend picked me up and drove me home to Nanaimo.

I was good for two weeks then I had a gastrointestinal bleed and I had to go back into Nanaimo hospital. It turns out I had low hemoglobin, so they gave me four units of blood and I stayed in hospital for five days.

Sylvia: Barbara was very ticked off with everything. She just didn’t want to be in hospital.

Barbara: But after receiving four units of blood, I perked up. It seemed to be the turning point. But before that happened, I had looked at Sylvia and said, “Just tell them to let me die.”

Healthy for three years and then…

Barbara: I was good for three years. Then in October 2015, I got a really high fever. Nothing brought it down and I was extremely fatigued. I went to Emergency and they said I had a bit of pneumonia. So, they treated me with antibiotics and sent me home. But two days later, I collapsed, and an ambulance came and took me to Nanaimo hospital. I was having rigors which is extreme trembling. It turned out my temperature was 105 degrees.

Sylvia: She was on floor five which is a medical floor.

Barbara: I remember going to the bathroom at 6 am the next morning and I went back to my bed and flopped on the bed and thought, “I am dying.” I’m not exaggerating. I thought this is going to be my last breath. So, there was a person in the room, and I said, “Please help me, I’m dying.” And I don’t remember anything else after that.

Sylvia: They took her straight to the ICU and ventilated her, but they could not find the bug. It was believed to be septicemia, more commonly known as blood poisoning, and they filled her full of antibiotics. She was in ICU for a week then they extubated her and transferred her to the medical floor. It turns out she had an enlarged heart and was sent to Victoria for another angiogram. Thankfully, that procedure showed her heart was back to normal. So, she was sent home.

Revelation of blood poisoning

Barbara: A year after that, in 2016, I got a letter from Cardiac Services, Island Health, explaining that there had been a contamination problem with the cooling tank of the bypass machine, and it could cause problems following surgery up to five years later. Thinking back to that time, I knew I was dying. It felt very peaceful.

Sylvia: But there again, somebody was there with her in her hospital room. She always seems to have a guardian angel.

Barbara: Since 2016, I’ve been okay. I take five heart medication pills and I’m fairly active, and our diet is good. We don’t eat red meat.

Sylvia: I think the message here is that you’ll see there’s a light at the end of the tunnel – just don’t ever give up!

What are the benefits of belonging to the Nanaimo Heart Sisters?

Barbara: A member of the group, Candis Jamieson, introduced me to the Heart Sisters. I knew Candis from work because I’d been a supervisor and I knew people throughout the hospital. Candis referred me to the Heart Sisters when she found out I’d had a heart attack. I’ve been a member since 2012.

I love it! And I am not a person for groups, never have been. I’m quite private. But when Candis first asked me to join, I looked at Sylvia and said, “I’m not into that sort of thing.” But I called Sandy Nazaruk, a nursing friend, and I knew she’d had health problems, so she came with me. She was more interested than me at first. But I love to be able to meet with people who’ve experienced the same thing as me.

And I discovered they’re a wonderful group, the nicest girls I’ve ever met. And everybody supports everybody else! It’s turned out well as this is the first group I’ve ever belonged to.