Chapter 28 Visits

Visiting Report

Every member of every organization should want to be on the first team to fully participate in the organization's major objective. Accredited visitors are our organization's first team.

Just as there are Christians who can't, for valid reasons, go to church services, there are some members of Mended Hearts who, for valid reasons, can't visit the hospitals. Many of these members perform other worthwhile services for the chapter. Since I just obtained the age of 78, I may soon be in this latter group.

When I first go in for a visit, I explain that a large proportion of Mended Hearts is composed of former heart surgery patients. Yet the question that I'm most often asked is, "Have you had this operation?" When I answer, "Yes, a quadruple bypass," I can feel the bond adhering, and the patient starts asking a lot of non-technical questions that would only be asked of a person like me.

Therefore, each of us who has had heart surgery has a unique and valuable gift that we should feel obligated to pass on to others. There is no monetary compensation for this work, but the rewards are great. When you visit someone who seems very apprehensive when you arrive, but when you leave says, "Thank you for coming; you have made me feel a lot better," that is the reward for the efforts of a hundred visits.

Thank You, John

One patient wrote, �During the last week of January 1999, I was in the hospital being treated for bacterial endocarditis before aortic valve replacement surgery. Sharing my room was a man from Williamsburg, waiting to have cardiac bypass surgery the next day. I remember vividly John Banks coming by to visit this patient and his wife. It was gratifying to see how he first introduced himself and then, in a nice and respectful manner, helped to calm the anxieties and fears present. Many questions were answered before the visit was over.

After John left, their immediate reaction was, "How wonderful it is that he came by and helped us during this trying time in our lives." I later went to rehab and Becky Oates suggested I participate in the Heart Walk. At the Mended Hearts booth I once again met John Banks. He gave me a newsletter and I filled out the membership application on the spot. Jerry Grossman was that patient.

I'm talking about my first solo visit as an accredited visitor on behalf of The Mended Hearts, Inc. My introduction to Mended Hearts came when I was in the hospital awaiting bypass surgery. I had no real idea of what was about to happen to me, but I figured it was pretty serious. I recall two pre-surgery visits. The first was my friend Hank Atkinson. Both gentlemen were willing to answer any question I had but I didn?t know what to ask.

After I left the hospital, I began receiving the newsletter and thought that Mended Hearts seemed like a pretty good group. I became a member and thought someday maybe I'll make some of those visits myself. My good intentions stayed unfilled until my old friend Hank Atkinson asked me one day if I had ever considered becoming a hospital visitor. Talk about timing!!! Now Hank, not being a believer in procrastination, recruited me right then and there and signed me up for the formal training program last July.

As a part of that training, all attendees were asked what our motivation was for wanting to make these visits. Until then I had never tried to put into words what I wanted to accomplish. The answer was pretty simple. I had an experience that many people were entering into that very day. If I could ease some concern that this patient might have, I could make a real contribution. While it may sound sort of corny, that was, and is still, my motivation.

Now, three months later, I still sometimes feel some of those same thoughts of fear and inadequacy as I head to the hospital to make my visits. Sometimes, I think that I really helped some one because they asked a question that I could answer.

Why am I still doing visits? Is it that pretty RED vest or the pay? Or is it the satisfaction of knowing that I can make a difference to people who have stepped into a period of their lives where they are not in control and don't know what to expect before, during, and after the surgery. I also appreciate being part of an organization that obviously has the respect of the health care professionals. They know that we contribute something useful toward the recovery of their patients.

We do need more volunteers. It only takes one afternoon a week, at most. If I can do it, you can, too.

The Cath Lab visit is entirely different from other hospital visits because after a heart cath the patient usually is first receiving news of necessary interventions, in contrast to a pre-op patient who is ready for heart surgery or a post-op who is looking forward to recovery at home. Because more patients are being admitted to the hospital the same day surgery is scheduled, we have fewer opportunities to do pre-op visiting. Cath lab visiting provides early contact with those patients who will be having other procedures. The family is usually very receptive to the offer of another visit, and an initial contact with Mended Hearts has been made.

We can't do it without more visitors and this is where YOU can help. Consider becoming an accredited visitor. Know that YOU can make a difference!