Speaker: Bonnie
Tell us a little bit about yourself
Bonnie: Hi. My name is Bonnie Rostein. I'm 76 years old. I'm a retired secretary. I have a husband and a daughter and I like doing almost anything. Anything is different. I walk. I like walking. I, I do a lot of reading. I do puzzles and, almost anything
Tell us about your diagnosis
Bonnie: I knew I had a problem, I was out at a family function and came home and was watching television and I got this terrible pain in my arms, my jaw and my chest, of course. And, I went to the hospital. It was very, no, I didn't go to the hospital that night. But the next morning when I told my daughter about it, she made me go the next morning and they told me I'd had a heart attack and they put me in, the hospital and while in intensive care I had a stroke.
Bonnie: So they sent me to Sudbury after a week and I have a stent put in and I, I felt better and then they sent me home and I had several follow up appointments with my cardiologist at Sudbury. And he told me I had heart failure. That really scared me because I figured that meant I was dying. He never really explained it too much to me. But, I kept going back to him and I just kept getting more pills
How has your life changed since your diagnosis?
Bonnie: When I was first diagnosed with heart failure, I was afraid I couldn't, breathe. Right. Well, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't, like, if I had to walk down the steps I had to grab something by the time I got to the top to hang on and, the breathing problem was really bad. I didn't, didn't feel, well, generally couldn't go shopping. Couldn't, couldn't go walking was a big thing for me and I had many appointments in Sudbury.
How has Best Care impacted your life?
Bonnie: My educator has really impacted my life because when I was first diagnosed with heart failure, I didn't know what questions to ask my doctor. And of course, they're always so busy, they don't have time. So when I got to see my
Bonnie: my educator, it was so nice to be able to go and talk and tell them how I was actually feeling and, you know, all the things that I didn't understand. I, I got answers to. So it was a great thing for me. It is a great thing for me.
Do you have a message for others about the Best Care program?
Bonnie: I, the message I would have for with to people who have heart failure is to get on this program as quickly as you can. Because the educator can answer lots of questions that the doctors just don't have time for and for doctors who are not part of this. A lot of people would go and speak to the educator or they wouldn't make an appointment with the doctor because they figure they're wasting his time. It's a real good thing for patients.
Bonnie: I have a message for the politicians that this program is almost like saving. Because like I say, they answer questions that doctors just don't have time for. They go through your medical history with you and it's just, I can't say enough about how great the program is. Thank you.
