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| The Klipfers |
“Minor heartburn had been bothering me for a few days, but it wasn’t even enough to take Tums,” says James, 58. “I drove my wife to the Reid because she had bronchitis and it was making it hard for her to breathe. She said we could stop at McDonald’s for dinner on the way, and I had a couple of cheeseburgers—I remember, because those are the last cheeseburgers I’ve eaten since then.”
While the emergency department staff helped his wife, James figured he ought to have his heartburn symptoms checked out, too, as long as he was at the hospital anyway. Twenty minutes and a few tests later, the emergency physician concluded that James had had a heart attack earlier in the day, and checked him into the hospital for care.
“The heart attack totally took me by surprise. I’m really active, and I’ve never had health problems in my life,” says James, a soybean and corn farmer who lives in Eaton. “But the fact was, my diet was really unhealthy—a lot of fried food, meat and salt.”
James underwent a procedure at Reid to have stents placed in a clogged artery, then began 12 weeks of cardiac rehabilitation, which included exercise and education. “I love eating anything that is bad for me, but the heart attack was a wake-up call,” James says. “The rehab therapists taught me some things about good nutrition, and now I read all the labels at the grocery store. It’s been a difficult transition, but I’d say my lifestyle has improved about 100 percent. My wife and I have both changed—we eat less meat, nothing fried, and lots of veggies and fruits. Plus, we’re exercising more.”
Months have passed since James had his “surprise” heart attack, but he still thinks about how well he was cared for at Reid. “The people at Reid are the nicest people I’ve ever run into,” he says. “They answered all my questions and I felt like they cared about me.”