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Careers > Employee Magazine > 2008 > July > Don’t Forget About You

Don’t Forget About You

Nancy Zosky’s heart attack story teaches us to take care of ourselves, too

The heart of country

It took a heart attack for Nancy Zosky (right) to realize she needed to make more time for herself. Now that she’s recovered from bypass surgery, she and her sister Jayne Dzienis (left) plan to get their hearts pumping at Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith concerts.

For Nancy Zosky, life couldn’t have been more stressful. Her father recently died of heart failure. Her mother was hospitalized with Alzheimer’s disease. Add in her daily duties as one of our materials management purchasing coordinator, and her plate already was overflowing. “I was worrying about everyone else but me,” she says.

Such was the case on March 10, the day that changed her life. After visiting her mother in the hospital, Zosky stopped at a grocery store. The nausea, sweating and chest discomfort she was feeling would have to take a back seat to life’s responsibilities.

By the time she got home, she was having trouble breathing and felt pressure in her chest. “I knew the signs of a heart attack, but I didn’t believe I was having one,” she says. Her husband didn’t take any chances. He called 9-1-1, and the ambulance arrived in minutes.

Paramedics with special education from our fast-action heart attack program (MI Alert for Heart Attacks) performed a 12-lead EKG. It showed Zosky was having a serious heart attack. They rushed her to LVH-Cedar Crest, where cardiologist David Cox, M.D., opened her totally blocked artery with a tiny balloon only 18 minutes after she entered the hospital.

Angioplasty was not the only procedure Zosky needed. Two other blockages in her main artery required bypass surgery. A longtime hospital colleague, Zosky knew she was in the right place. “I was anxious, but I wasn’t afraid,” she says. A dream she had the night before surgery comforted her even more. “My father came to me and assured me I would be all right,” she says.

Her dream came true. After a successful surgery, quitting smoking, and four weeks of cardiac rehabilitation, Zosky is back to work and feeling great. Follow-up tests show that because she received fast heart attack care, her heart suffered no damage. “I know we provide excellent care,” Zosky says. “But when you’re the patient, you understand how special our hospital is.”

Zosky’s experience taught her another important lesson—to take better care of herself. She’s eating healthy, exercising and spending quality time with her sister. “I realized it was time to start making time for me,” she says.

Want a magnet that lists the warning signs of a heart attack? Call 610-402-CARE.

How to Put Yourself First
As colleagues of the area’s busiest health network, we are always focused on giving our patients the best care. But we need to care for ourselves, too. “Most of us don’t even realize the stress we put on ourselves,” says Carol Guanowsky, director of employee health.

If you’re irritable, forgetful and having trouble sleeping, it may be a warning sign that you’re under too much stress. “Once you identify what’s causing your stress, you can look for ways to change it,” Guanowsky says.

It may be as easy as making more time for yourself. Exercise (gym memberships, and health, wellness and stress reduction classes are covered under your $500 Culture of Wellness benefit), hobbies and even a coffee break with a friend or colleague can be a stress buster. “By taking care of yourself, you’ll be better equipped to care for the people who need you,” Guanowsky says.

- Rick Martuscelli


This page last updated 6/17/08 11:25 AM
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LVH Info Line: 610-402-CARE
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Lehigh Valley Hospital has campuses in Allentown and Bethlehem, Pa. and serves the Pennsylvania communities of Easton, Doylestown, Quakertown, Hazelton, Lehighton, Perkasie, Pottstown, Pottsville, Reading, Scranton, Wilkes Barre, Stroudsburg, and the Poconos and also Phillipsburg and Flemington, N.J., and western New Jersey. You don't have to travel to Philadelphia or New York for quality health care.

 
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