SEKY February 2023 | Page 26

once again .
According to the nurses who run the program – RNs Brittany Robertson , Nikki Lane and Lauren Johnson-Davis – other people who have gone through the program have had a lot of success , too .
Lane said she has seen people who start the program requiring supplimental oxygen , and by the time they leave they are off of it .
Robertson said also that they have had people who were on the waiting list for receiving a heart transplant , and by going through the program they no longer needed to be on that list .
The nurses added a whole list of other improvements they have seen : Coming off of medicine for diabetes , getting strong enough to walk through a grocery store , lowering their blood pressure and even losing body fat .
But many , like Pitman , are not very enthusiastic in the beginning .
There are a few reasons for this , the women said . One is common among many who have suffered heart -related illnesses – depression .
Part of the assessment that patients undergo when starting the program includes screenings for depression and suicidal thoughts .
“ We ’ ve had several people that we ’ ve caught and been able to get them help that ’ s had suicidal thoughts ,” Robertson said .
People go through depression for several reason , they said . For some it ’ s because they used to be the head-ofhousehold and were earning a living for their families , and now they are dependent on others .
One of their patients came to them after having worked a labor-intensive railroad job , and was used to doing a lot of heavy lifting , Robertson said .
After having had bypass surgery , he was no longer able to lift anything over 5 pounds , which , as Johnson-Davis pointed out , means he couldn ’ t even carry a full gallon of milk , which is 8 pounds .
Also , for some patients it weighs on them that their loved ones may have witnessed their heart attack or heartrelated event . And for some , they realize that they have no one to help them through their medical situation if they are alone of their family refuses to help .
However , the program doesn ’ t only help a patient ’ s physical health , the nurses said .
Johnson-Davis said , “ By the end of it , they all have made friends or they ’ ve realized they have a friend here . We ’ ve had a couple of buddy systems that were really cute .”
There have been a lot of people who have come in with severe depression and have left scoring much lower on their depression assessments , or even having almost no depression at all , Lane added . “ It ’ s kind of amazing to watch that , just the transformation from being able to
Nurses Nikki Lane , Brittany Robertson and Lauren Johnson-Davis pose in front of some of the equipment used at the Cardiac Rehab center .
Photo by Carla Slavey 26 • SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky february 2023