By Jennifer Browning
When Bruce Johnson talks about being a Mended Hearts member it isn’t just personal. To him, Mended Hearts is family.
Bruce said that after joining Mended Hearts he began to feel an instant bond to his fellow members.
“It was kind of like meeting family,” he said. “We are speaking the same language, sharing the same experience. And when we ask someone how are you doing, we really mean it!”
These experiences members share between each other, Bruce said, is why Mended Hearts is so important for so many heart patients.
“I met some young people at convention and we were sharing our stories about our experiences. That part of Mended Hearts is so important, because it is a life-long process….a life journey,” he said. “No one gets to the point where we are totally mended, and you have nothing to worry about anymore.”
Bruce continued to explain how Mended Hearts is essential to heart survivors when it comes to life after heart surgery.
“How do I take the next step forward? That is where Mended Hearts comes in, and I don’t know any other organization that steps in and helps in this way,” Bruce said. “The members you get stay for life. “
Bruce explained that after surgery patients go through acute care, rehabilitation and that along with the physical part of recovery, there are the emotional and mental parts. This is where Mended Hearts comes in with the visiting program.
“A heart patient faces—how do I go on with the rest of my life?” he said. “It’s one thing to hear it from a doctor, but entirely different to hear from a patient who has been there. It’s the incredible power of one patient telling his story to another. That is where Mended Hearts can help.”
When heart patients leave the hospital, they are faced with a myriad of questions and worries. How do I talk to my wife? How do I share with my boss that I don’t know if I can do this job? How do I talk to my kids about my physical activity?
Talk to a heart patient first, Bruce said.
“Most of these cardiologists have never heard this from their patients,” he said. “They don’t have time to sit and talk to us about our fears and concerns. Through Mended Hearts we do that for them. That’s where, as an organization, we can be help to the cardiologists.”
The Washington reporter who uses social media tools to reach out to his audience said he appreciates how Mended Heart has
Bruce recently wrote Heart to Heart, the book, in which he reveals the stories of a diverse group of men and women, young and not so young who survived similar attacks. For Heart to Heart, he interviewed people of different gender and backgrounds who had also survived a heart attack or cardiovascular disease. The result is a fascinating collection of 12 patient stories, including his own and that of two other Mended Hearts members. Photo courtesy of Bruce Johnson.
begun to “fill the gap” by introducing members online.
“By being on Facebook, Mended Hearts is allowing us to support each other online,” he said. “It is an incredible asset. It isn’t just a resource, it is reaching out and connecting with real people you may not have met yet. At convention, you finally meet them, and now you have a face, but you already know their history.”
And Bruce isn’t afraid to reach out to others through the online community. Members will see Bruce commenting here and there on the Mended Hearts Facebook Page, and he doesn’t have a problem with getting personal.
In August, Bruce shared with members on Facebook that he was possibly going in for a procedure to receive an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in the next few months.
“By posting my situation on the Mended Hearts Facebook page I knew there would be comments from people who had been there….had already had experiences with such devices,” he said. “The advice was right on point and incredibly helpful in eliminating my fears and apprehension. The Facebook page is like a 24 hour-seven day a week, long distance phone conversation or internet video hookup on Skype.”
And Bruce said he enjoys returning the favor using those same social network channels. He often scans the Mended Hearts Facebook Page looking for newcomers and people who have just discovered there is a social network support group for survivors.
“It’s always there when I feel like talking or listening to somebody who might need my help—-and I do feel this is part of the deal with Mended Hearts—-to reach back and share with others what you have gotten from the group,” Bruce said. “The message is simple, ‘you are not alone, you are loved and we will help you get through this.’”
But online or off, Bruce said that most of all, he appreciates Mended Hearts mission in helping heart patients continue on with life.
“Mended Hearts is about filling in the blanks,” Bruce said. “It has to do with getting along with the rest of our lives….the rest of our meaningful lives.”
* Bruce Johnson is a reporter and anchor for WUSA 9, the CBS affiliate in Washington, DC.. In 1992, while on assignment for WUSA 9, in a tough DC neighborhood, Bruce suffered a sudden and massive heart attack. He was rushed to a nearby emergency room, stabilized, and then flown to the Washington Hospital Center where emergency angioplasty successfully unclogged an artery. Bruce recently wrote Heart to Heart, the book, in which he reveals the stories of a diverse group of men and women, young and not so young who survived similar attacks. For Heart to Heart, he interviewed people of different gender and backgrounds who had also survived a heart attack or cardiovascular disease. The result is a fascinating collection of 12 patient stories, including his own and that of two other Mended Hearts members. This year, Bruce spoke to Mended Heart members at the Annual Convention.
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