Cardiac rehab helps County woman
heal heart to help others
PRESQUE ISLE — A county woman has a new lease on life and celebrated it recently by walking in the 33rd annual UMPI Spring Runoff 5K Road Race with a staff member from TAMC’s Cardiac Rehab Department who helped make it possible.
Photo courtesy of TAMC
CAROLYN KIMBALL, right, of Presque Isle, completed another one of her cardiac rehab goals when she walked in the 5K UMPI Spring Runoff April 12. Joining Kimball for the walk was Mitzi McKenney, RN of TAMC’s Cardio Rehab Department. 
Carolyn Kimball of Presque Isle, a retired ACAP employee and longtime volunteer for various local organizations, always led an active life. She enjoys outdoor activities like walking, hiking, kayaking and biking, and she continued to participate in her active lifestyle despite being aware of an aortic aneurism for the past few years. That all changed early last fall when some ominous symptoms began to appear.
“In September, I started having pains in my arms when I would walk,” said Kimball. “Doctors found a 95 percent blockage in one artery and a 90 percent blockage in other areas. I did not know that I had any blockages. That came as a surprise.”
On Oct. 16, doctors performed a triple bypass and re-sectioned the area of her aorta containing the aneurism. The procedures were successful, and she was able to begin her cardiac rehab shortly after Thanksgiving in 2013.
“At admission time, Carolyn came to us very weak and de-conditioned, and she appeared very pale and frail,” said Mitzi McKenney, RN of TAMC’s Cardiac Rehab Department, which is certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). Despite that, she came to rehab as a very determined woman.
“Her enthusiastic zest for life was evident by her conversation with me during my assessment,” said McKenney. “She had hopes of regaining some strength and energy so she could return to enjoying many forms of outdoor activities and her regular volunteer hours at TAMC and in the community.”
Ever since Kimball retired, and even before, she has lived a life of giving. She volunteers in the oncology department at TAMC and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer advocating for children in court. She’s also on the board of directors for both the St. Apollonia Dental Clinic in Presque Isle and for ACAP. Among other things, Kimball is also actively involved with her church and enjoys helping with their mission work.
“Part of the admission process in our department is having clients verbalize their goals,” said McKenney. “As nurses, we then incorporate those goals in the patient plan of care. This has a two-fold benefit. Stating goals benefits the rehab process by defining a purpose for each client. It also keeps each client’s personal goals in front of us as care plan providers.”
Kimball’s goals were unique in that even her goals for obtaining physical health were woven into her desire to help others, because to give more, she needed to have the strength and endurance to complete physical tasks. Her goals included returning to work as a volunteer, completing a mission trip to Alabama to help work on home repair, walking in a 5K race and climbing Mount Washington with her sister-in-law.
With her goals in mind, Kimball began her road to recovery at Cardiac Rehab. She worked with the staff at TAMC three days a week and then began keeping up an active routine on her off days.
“We follow an exercise prescription and have MET (metabolic equivalent) level stages. A MET level is the energy cost of an activity,” said McKenney. “The cardiac rehab activities are tailored to the individual. We tweak the difficulty many times so subtle, that the client is unaware that they are working harder, and before long, they are getting stronger and have more endurance.”
Kimball’s determination to reach her goals became stronger with each goal she met. Before long, she had returned to her volunteer activities, and in February she went with a group of 16 people from her church to Alabama.
“We worked hard, and I wasn’t the only one who got tired. I wasn’t really sure that I was going to be able to do that, but the rehab helped a lot,” said Kimball of the experience. “I think my endurance is better now. I can walk up the hill. I get a little out of breath, but not much.”
“To see Carolyn blossom during her weeks of attending cardiac rehab makes me feel so happy and reminds me why I love my job,” said McKenney. “Carolyn’s determination is a wonderful example of encouragement for others.”
Kimball’s participation in UMPI’s Spring Runoff 5K event marked the completion of three of her four goals. Her story inspired McKenney to walk with Kimball in the event and other staff members from rehab and Kimball’s daughter to run in the event.
“The walk was fun, and it was great having Mitzi with me,” said Kimball of her participation in the 5K event. “I was out of breath, so I still have some things to work on.”
Kimball has one more goal left to complete, which she plans to do this summer when she climbs Mount Washington. Every step she takes is training and conditioning for this final feat. In preparation, she plans to first scale some smaller mountains. She knows she has a busy few months ahead of her, but knows she can do it.
Kimball hopes that her success and experience can inspire others to consider cardiac rehab.
“I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone,” she said. “A lot of people get very depressed, but every time I went to rehab, I felt better. I think it’s good psychologically, as well as physically.”
Kimball recommends that cardiac rehab patients set goals by finding something they enjoy doing and then making that a goal.
“It could be gardening, riding a bike, looking after children … I feel like I was given an extension on my life, that’s enough to make anyone happy,” she said.
McKenney says cardiac rehab can offer the same opportunity for a second lease on life to others.
“Cardiac rehab provides a safety net of activities that show a patient what they can do safely at home. It also provides an extra set of eyes on a client as they continue to heal post operatively or post cardiac event such as a heart attack,” she said. “We see the patients generally every other day, and many times we can detect a problem or a need for physician intervention or a medication adjustment long before the patient’s scheduled appointment.”
McKenney says a camaraderie develops between patients and staff from the rehab sessions, which is a big boost to the patients. This encouragement is so significant, that the Cardiac Rehab Department at TAMC has established a Healthy Hearts Club so that alumni can continue to participate in the environment even after graduating from their program.
For more information on TAMC’s Cardiac Rehab Department, call 768-4307.
