This week’s spot light is on
Paula Hinkle (One of the Ladies of The Fab Five for The Forsyth County Go Red
Campaign), I met her right after we were picked for the Go Red Campaign and
they were doing an interview for Go Red Month on the news. I liked Paula right
away she was friendly, very talkative and outgoing. Her story was so
interesting and heartfelt; I thought right then and there I want to put her
story on my blog. So here it is:
It was the early morning hour of Nov.
11, 2007. It was exactly 1:38 AM Sunday morning because I looked at the clock
thinking my head just set off fireworks!! Realizing this might be a real bad
headache, I got up and took some ibuprophen and lay back down, but suddenly my
chest felt like it was being crushed, I couldn't breathe very well either. I
got up and tried to be quiet so not to wake up my husband and get myself
comfortable but after approx.10 min. that didn't happen so I woke him up and
tried to explain what was going on. I had no other symptoms and I was extremely
healthy (my primary doc had just told me I was so healthy I would never die of
heart attack or stroke) that I never thought about my heart. After approx.40
minutes the pressure seemed to subside so we went back to sleep. Yup, we did
but two hours later, I suddenly woke up with extreme chest pressure, both of my
arms were numb and tingling and we knew we had to make a decision. Again, never
did heart attack occur to me. We quickly got in our car and raced off. Yes,
that was not the right thing to do because of all the serious things that could
have happened. We arrived at Forsyth around 5:30 AM and we were quickly taken
in just at the mention of chest pressure. After drawing blood, checking my
vitals and running a EKG, it appeared that the team was stumped because all
seemed to be with normal range. Doses of nitro and morphine were given, more
blood drawn and a cardiologist came to visit, but nothing I remember about a
heart attack. Approx. 5-6 hours later the doc came back to inform us that
cardiac enzymes had appeared in my blood work and I indeed had had a heart
attack!! Shocker!! I was teaching Pilates at the time, working out about every
day. All my numbers were great BUT my family had a history of heart related
issues!! At 57 yrs. young, it was my turn!! My doctor said we would
remain at the hospital until the next day, since it was Sunday, and a stress
test would be done. We settled in, called the kids and my chest pressure was
managed by meds until around 5 PM that afternoon when my nurse said that my
heart rate was dropping steadily so the doc was summoned and he decided this
couldn't wait. He explained the cath. procedure since I would be awake and off
I went to surgery. My faith in God is very strong so really at no time was I
fearful of what was ahead. I just said ,"Let's go!" In surgery, it
was determined that I had one artery that was 100% blocked and had been a long
time so nothing was done there .Another artery, however, was 80% blocked so a
stent was inserted. My third artery was pretty clean! My recovery was great and
my rehab was a blessing from God as I met so many wonderful, yet scared people
who had heart issues as well. My diet wasn't really bad, my exercise routine was
good, but my genes were bad. Here I am today, turning 62 soon and feel great. I
continue to meet amazing people like Robin through this experience and I am a
better person because of it.!!
Praise be to God,
Paula Hinkle.
I
have had the pleasure of spending some time with Paula, whom I really like a lot,
she is an awesome Lady. I recently sat down with her and got to ask her some
questions about her participation in The Go Red Campaign.
How did you hear about The Go Red
Campaign?
I saw it on FaceBook and sent in my
Story.
What’s your goal while serving as a Forsyth County
To educate woman like me so that they
know that this disease can happen to them due to family history and raising
awareness about the dangers of this disease to fight it.
How are you maintaining your health
since your incident?
By going to the gym on a regular basis,
eating a healthy diet (both help to keep me young also), I make sure to do
cardio like the Stairmaster. I also build and maintain my muscle tone with free
weights and machines.
Where do you want The Go Red Campaign
to lead you?
I want to make sure I use this
opportunity to be more active to get more people involved.
Thank
you Paula, for your time and involvement, I am so glad you fought and survived
this disease, because you make my life more meaningful with you in it.
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