Terry Schulte

Knowing my family on both sides had heart problems, I knew I needed to pay attention to my lifestyle. I thought I did as much as I could to do by exercising and staying healthy, but my genetics caught up with me.

After eating and exercising, I always had this slight pain in the middle of my chest. For years, I thought I had acid reflux. I had been seeing the doctor for it and taking my medicine every morning. It seemed to help.

In the spring of 2018, things started to change while I was mowing lawns. In the past, I mowed with a riding lawn mower, but I decided to use a push mower to get additional exercise. I mowed two yards which would take approximately an hour a piece to mow. The first day, after 30 minutes of mowing, I started to get that same slight pain in my chest. I continued to think it was acid reflux. I kept push mowing the rest of the summer. It would never get any worse and it would always end after mowing, so I kept mowing.

When fall came, I started to play noon basketball at the Petersen Family Wellness Center. I felt the same pain while running up and down the court. I continued to think it was acid reflux. On December 16th, 2018, while playing basketball on Sunday night at the Harlan Middle School, I knew there was something wrong. The pain was not just in front of my chest. It was in my back between my shoulders blades. Being a little stubborn and getting banged around playing with bigger players, I thought I popped a rib.

On Monday morning, I called Pitts Chiropractic to set up an appointment with Dr. Kintner. The examination indicated there was not a rib out of place and he could not find anything on the X-ray. Dr. Kintner recommended I see my family doctor. I immediately called Myrtue Medical Center to get an appointment with Dr. Sarah Devine. I told Dr. Devine my symptoms and she ordered an EKG. She said something showed up---I forget what the medical term was, but she had to make some phone calls. At that point, my mind started thinking of all the things it could be.

Dr. Devine recommended I see Dr. Thomas Brandt, a Cardiologist at Methodist. Dr. Brandt has clinics at Myrtue’s Specialty Clinic. I was told to be prepare for a stress test. When I had a stress test performed previously, I passed with flying colors. I wondered if this time would be different.

The results of the stress echocardiogram were borderline Anterior Apical Hypokinesis. Dr. Brandt ordered Nitroglycerin for me and instructed me to restrain from any physical activity. He said to enjoy Christmas and he wanted to see me at Jennie Edmundson on December 27th. They did a cardiac catheterization to define anatomy and direct therapy. Dr. Brandt ended up putting two cardiac stents in my right coronary artery.

I was thinking about how long I dealt with this and how in just two weeks, I met with three doctors and had this all taken care of. How fortunate I am to have all the right people in the right places. I went through the full cardiac rehab program at Myrtue Medical Center’s Cardiac Rehab Department. I met other patients going through the same thing. After the first day, I wasn’t sure I could commit the time it takes to get better. With the help of Jana and Tammy, Cardiac Rehab nurses, they helped me through the 36 days. Of course, I had to try and do better than the other patients. I was not going to let them down!

At this time, I am going to the Wellness Center three to four times a week. I am walking, using the treadmill, playing basketball and lifting weights. When the weather permits, I walk outside for at least three miles. I feel very fortunate and thankful I found the right people at the right time. Thank you to Dr. Kintner for his exam and telling me to see my family doctor. I thank Dr. Devine and her exam and referring me to Dr. Brandt. A special thank you to the awesome Cardiac Rehab staff at Myrtue Medical Center.

Terry Schulte

Westphalia