Open Heart Surgery with Boots

#15 Boots interviews Erin Borbet, a acupuncturist and coach, to highlight the role Erin's acupuncture and coaching has played in Boots's recovery from heart surgery. There are so many important lessons in this episode. Boots shares about working through the emotional components of heart surgery with Erin. It's an important listen. Erin is a Licensed Acupuncturist, Board Certified in Chinese Herbal...

#14 Frank and Anna Jaworski's baby, Alex, was born in 1994 and was seemingly ok...to the doctors and nurses. Frank and Anna disagreed. Alex was showing many symptoms of concern including not feeding well, tachycardia, not gaining weight, jaundice, and lethargy. Frank and Anna were continuously gaslighted until Alex's problems became emergent at just two months old. From there, a miracle began to t...

Bill Wingate will always hold on to hope, faith, and his bourbon. Thanks to his incredible community of friends and his wife, Martha, he has endured a medical journey few take and he has kept his humor in the process. In 1997, while a student at Auburn University, Bill began to experience issues in his neck. He went to see a doctor who heard a heart murmur and sent him to a cardiologist. Soon ther...

#12 Lisa Mihan shares how she felt 20 years younger after her myectomy at NYU Langone to treat her hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. Now, 57 years old, Lisa lives her life like "a leaf in the stream." Boots and Lisa also talk about navigating the healthcare system and how we hire doctors to help us heal our hearts. Website: The Heart Chamber (theheartchamberpodcast.com) Transcript: Joyful B...

Chris Moll breaks his heart transplant journey into three two-week chunks with Boots. In particular, he takes walks us through the mental health aspect of organ transplant and how he sought out support while he waited for a donor heart and how he coped post transplant. Website: The Heart Chamber (theheartchamberpodcast.com) Transcript: Joyful Beat | The Heart Chamber (theheartchamberpodcast.com) T...

#10 Paul Fasse shares his miracle story with Boots where he overcame hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, mitral valve prolapse, and myocardial bridging corrected in TWO open-heart surgeries at the Cleveland Clinic. The main theme in this episode is the importance of patient advocacy. Website: The Heart Chamber (theheartchamberpodcast.com) Transcript: Joyful Beat | The Heart Chamber (theheartc...

#9 In this episode, Kathryn and Boots share stories of how they manage other people's reactions to their heart journeys. Kathryn also shares her journey with Ehlers-danlos syndrome, POTS, Tetralogy of Fallot and Fibryomyalgia. If you have been wondering how to talk to someone dealing with a life changing illness or if you are afraid to share your story, this episode is for you. Website: The Heart...

#8 Boots Knighton has a candid conversation with Kari Potter on how Reiki, sound healing, and acupressure helped Boots remain calm in preparation for open-heart surgery as well as how it helped her process her grief when she learned she had been born with several congenital defects. Kari uses Suzanne, Boots's first name, to refer to Boots throughout the episode. Website: The Heart Chamber (thehear...

Michelle Sheely shares her story of three stents and open-heart surgery for myocardial bridging of her LAD. She also shares about WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease. Boots and Michelle's conversation focuses on advocacy as well as the effect of hormones on the heart. Thank you for listening! 0:00 intro 1:50 Michelle shares her story of suffering and how she advocated f...

#6 What happens when your heart doesn't perform as it should, and the answer isn't clear? In this episode, Rob Thornett reveals his fight against an elusive heart condition, his eventual lifesaving surgery, and the aftermath. He and Boots Knighton discuss the steep learning curve with medical terminologies, the power of patient advocacy, and the unspoken toll of being misdiagnosed. Rob also uncove...

#5 Boots Knighton interviews her cardiac physical therapist, Cassie Fuller. In this impactful conversation, Boots and Cassie talk about the importance of listening to the body's clues it gives when healing post open-heart surgery. They also talk about the importance of vulnerability and asking for help. Boots feels this episode is particularly important for heart patients to listen to because Cass...

From Chest Pain to Myocardial Bridge Diagnosis and Surgery at Stanford, Jeff Holden recounts a life-changing episode that shifted his perspective on health, empathy, and purpose. An avid cyclist, Jeff was blindsided by a severe medical emergency that defied his otherwise stellar physical condition. This episode dives into the mystery of his heart condition, the surreal experiences during his recov...

#3 Boots Knighton interviews her nutritionist, Georgie McNiff, about how Georgie came into her life at the right time. They talk about how to combat water retention and shedding excess estrogen and dream about starting a movement to get the medical community to better prepare heart patients for open-heart surgery. 0:00Intro 1:25 How I found Nurse Georgie 3:41 Nurse Georgie's qualifications 4:31 My...

#2 Boots continues her heart story with the help of her friend, Mary. In this particular episode, Boots discusses cardiac depression in depth and how her work with her mental health therapist was key to her recovery. Also, she describes having the sternal wires removed and the unfortunate need for a third surgery in addition to grieving her mom's death. Website: The Heart Chamber (theheartchamberp...

#1 Boots Knighton tells her story with the help of her friend, Mary Olson. While on a mountain bike ride on June 26, 2020, Boots felt all the symptoms of a heart attack. Refusing to believe it was happening, she kept going and insisted on finishing the ride. After an ER visit, seeing a cardiologist and even climing Idaho's tallest peak, Mt Borah, Boots finally learned what had been lurking in her...