Indeed, the need for a support group like Mended Hearts is reflected in the statistics: according to the American Heart Institute, cardiovascular diseases claim 982,574 lives last year, 45.3% of all deaths. Coronary heart disease alone caused 533,050 deaths. It's the leading cause of death in America today. As for coronary bypass surgery, an estimated 353,000 of these operations were performed, more than half of them on people under the age of 65. Paul Catalano, the man with the bushy mustache, was a founder of a chapter California. "Our motto is "It's great to be alive and to help others," he says "All of us feel so darn lucky to be feeling great, we want to pay something back for getting our second chance. And besides, I don't want to just sit around and have weeds grow around me."

     Helping out with the support program of Mended Hearts, however is not for everyone. First, it demands an intensive training program with some very important "do's," such as do be positive, supportive, tactful, cheerful, dependable, considerate, responsive-and be a good listener. Some of the "don'ts" include not giving medical advice and not being a salesperson for any surgical methods or religious beliefs.

     "It also demands a lot of time," Catalano, who himself helps others through surgery, explains. "But it's worth it. First, the Mended Heart is living proof that the surgery can be successful. Plus, the sight of a healthy Mended Heart is often a unique experience to a cardiac patient because, to the general public, heart surgery is still something they only read about."

     "Moreover," Catalano continues, "what people read usually concerns the operation, not the emotional condition of the patient before and after surgery. We're living examples of successful heart surgery rather than statistics."

     Today, more than 230,000 visits are made annually across the country. Each Mended Hearts chapter has a visitor's coordinator who, working with cardiac units, tries to match Mended Hearts visitors with each patient according to sex, age, and similarity of procedures. "I've had guys who are really really scared, " Catalano recalls

     "Once they open up, it's like a catharsis. I've had wives call me and say, 'What did you do?' Their husbands had made such reversals in psychological or emotional attitudes." "What we do," he continues, "is really quite simple. We answer questions that patients may feel uncomfortable asking their doctor or nurse. They ask us things about sex, or what their chest or leg will feel like, or how the incisions will look. We tell them to do everything the doctor and nurses tell them to do after the operation. Hug that teddy bear or pillow and cough. Breathe into the respirator gizmo as often as they tell you. And, as difficult as it may be, get up and walk. The more you do it, we tell them, the quicker you're going to recover. I tell them my goal was to play golf as soon after the operation as I could." And with a wide, toothy smile, Catalano says, "I played nine holes six weeks later."

     Most chapters of Mended Hearts hold monthly meetings featuring speakers on a variety of subjects relating to heart disease. At one recent meeting, for instance, a woman faced with an angiogram was frightened. A large number of members surrounded her to help allay her worries, and lend support. At another meeting, a speaker pointed out that heart surgery is unique because it is both elective and dangerous. "It is," the speaker said, "a coerced blessing." In other words, patients are forced into doing something they would rather not do, but the surgery offers such a fantastic reward that it can't be refused.

     As for me, I'll never forget Paul Catalano's first visit. Within a matter of seconds, his presence, his positive attitude, his message, and yes, his volunteer ministry had lifted me out of a pit of fear and depression. I'll never forget his parting remark. As taught in their training program, the Mended Hearts visitors never say things like "Good Luck" when they leave a pre-op patient.
Instead, as Catalano left the room, he turned to face me. "I'll see you," he said, "in a few days." I believed him. And we did meet again. Three days later.

Ken Thoren
Writer & Mended Heart member

PREVIOUS PAGE