Donnette is a loving wife, mother and grandmother, and a passionate volunteer. She has a very big heart. She also however, has problems with that heart - Donnette has heart disease and chronic angina. Donnette's angina was impacting her life, and she became frightened and frustrated. Unable to find relief from her pain, Donnette had accepted that angina was just something she had to live with. But with her family's encouragement, Donnette sought a second opinion. She spoke from the heart to her new cardiologist about how angina was affecting her life. Together, they explored new solutions for her pain.

Meet Donnette



Donnette

My name is Donnette. I live in Huntsville, Alabama. I'm married to my husband Tom, and we have two children, Darren and Dana, and we have two great grandchildren; super kids. Ty is 12 and Hannah is 8.



Good Girl.



We have two four-legged children as well. Well, actually three counting the cat. They're kind of company, you know, now that the children are gone. We enjoy it.



I'm a technical writer. I work at Redstone Arsenal. I've been there more years than I can count. Hopefully, we'll retire somewhere in the future.



Tom

I met Donnette at work one day and things just went from there. I've been very blessed to know her.



Donnette

We've been married almost 30 years; it will be 30 years in October. I like doing volunteer work. I guess that's my hobby; doing volunteer work. I really enjoy it when I can help somebody.



Donnette

So have you been feeling okay?



Female

I've been feeling okay since then. I really have.



Donnette

That's fantastic.



Tom

She works almost a full schedule, and then visits at the hospital with others and things. She has a big heart; there's no doubt.



Dana

My mother has a very warm-giving heart. A very big heart. Unfortunately, that heart also came with chronic angina.



Diagnosis: Chronic Angina



Donnette

I was born with a bicuspid valve. I knew from the time I was little that I had a problem. They had told me, you know, someday in the future, you're going to have to have surgery, but I just learned to deal with it.



Then all the sudden, one day I started up the steps and I felt a burning sensation in my chest. It was like being out in the cold and you feel a burning sensation in your lungs, and it spread across my shoulders and I knew that was not right. I was afraid that it was a heart attack and I went to see the doctor right away. He told me I didn't have a heart attack, which was good news. But he did diagnose me with chronic angina.



I didn't really know what that was, and at the time I was a little afraid to ask. He reassured me that it was not a heart attack and could be controlled. But you know, being young, I pushed things like that away. If it goes away, fine. If it doesn't, I just continue. But you know, in the back of your mind, it's always there that something's not right.



Frustrated and Frightened



When I was first diagnosed with chronic angina, I didn't really know what it was. Is it a heart attack? No, it's not a heart attack, then what is it? My heart hurts. It's very frustrating and yes, frightening. You start thinking, well, am I imagining this? Maybe this is not as bad as it feels like it is, so I'm just going to stop talking about it.



Dana

She likes to cover things up for family. She doesn't want us to worry. If she's having problems, it's, oh, I'm fine. It will pass.



Donnette

I wouldn't even tell Tom that I was having them.



The pain, it got more frequent; it was more intense. The next step was we saw the cardiologist again and he put me in the hospital to do a cath. That was my first cath. And he came out and told us it was time for surgery. It was tough; I had just turned 40, you know, they start talking about working on your heart and you start planning your funeral. I actually did that. It was a difficult time for the whole family.



I was in - in my room the day prior to surgery and the door opened, and I was crying. I was just crying and this man walked in, and he said, "I'm here with a support organization and I'd like to talk to you about your surgery. I've had the surgery." I thought, wow, you've had the surgery? He looked great. And he sat down and talked with me and explained what would happen; what it felt like, and I thought, okay, you know, this is not as bad as I'm really thinking it will be. I dried up my tears and said, "Okay, we can do this."



Searching for Relief



Donnette

I checked in with my doctors every year, and they watch me very closely. And I started having the angina again, and that was kind of a warning sign to me. I thought, oh no, here we go again, you know, now it's back. I was really uncomfortable most days. The doctor did prescribe some drugs for me to take. I did use that from time to time when the pain got worse. When it's not so bad, I - I won't take it. I was really not wanting anything to be wrong with me. I wanted to be normal, and that wasn't happening.



Dana

I think she learned to live with it, and it was almost a part of her. You know, you live with different aliments and angina was one of her ailments that she thought she had to live with.



Donnette

My daughter is very outspoken, and she said, "No way mom. If something's not working, then you need to find something that will."



Dana

Fresh eyes, fresh eyes was what we needed.



Donnette

And she said, "Mom, I've got a great cardiologist and I think you should give him a try."



Working Together



I was really reluctant to try a new doctor because I had been with my current doctors forever, but for some reason we just didn't communicate.



Dana

I was working for a neurologist, and we dealt a lot with Birmingham physicians. So I called and made the appointment for her, and then called and told her I had done it.



Donnette

So Tom went with me, and we went in, and Dr. Bakir came in and he was looking at my records and he was like, wow, you've had all this done. I think he was pretty amazed at all that I had gone through.



Dr. Steve Bakir

My name is Steve Bakir. I'm an interventional cardiologist here in Birmingham, Alabama.



Donnette is such a warm-lovely woman, but I could tell she was at a low point when we met. And she was clearly frustrated that her symptoms were not being treated. And frankly, she was in a lot of pain from her chronic angina.



Donnette

He listened to me. He took his time. He didn't rush. I could tell by his body language that he was going to listen to me. And he said, okay, we're going to work on this.



Dr. Steve Bakir

A lot of my job is trying to get information out of people. And so I think it's very important for us, as physicians, to stop talking and listen. And if there's a little bit of silence in the room, it's fascinating what the patient will fill that silence with.



Donnette

There was more communication than I have had in the past.



You know, I went that whole period of time without any chest pain at all and then it started gradually coming back. So I'm hoping maybe this time it won't.



Dr. Steve Bakir

Then we were able to guide our treatment towards my reaction to her illness, and then the more nuts and bolts of the physical problems; how to make her feel better from a physical perspective.



Donnette

I'm hopeful this time.



Dr. Steve Bakir

I'm very optimistic.



Donnette

Good.



Dr. Steve Bakir

I'm very optimistic.



Donnette

I did start to see results. He was - he was willing to try things that - that hadn't been tried before.



You've always had time to listen to me, so I thank you for that.



Dr. Steve Bakir

My pleasure. Thank you very much for coming to me, and thank you for talking to me from your heart because that makes a huge difference.



Donnette

I'll cry.



Speak From the Heart



Donnette

Hello? Hi. Can I come in for a second?



Male

Yes ma'am.



Donnette

If you don't mind, we'd like to talk to you for a minute.



Male

That's fine.



Donnette

I love the aspect of my life that involves volunteering. If I could - if I could do it all day long, I would - I would.



We're both heart patients, so we know exactly what all you've been through and what - how you're feeling. So that's why we wanted to come by and just say hello.



I'm involved on the national level now with the organization, and I get to help other people, which is a great feeling. I still enjoy, most of all, visiting the patients in the hospital, one on one, helping them in the same way that I was helped before I had my first surgery.



We're just here to give you a little bit of support, and let you know that there is life after heart surgery. If there's anything that we can do, any questions that we can answer for you, or you just want to talk to somebody, just give us a call.



Male

All right.



Donnette

We gather at meetings once a month and we share problems, or feelings, or symptoms, or whatever.



I did see Dr. Bakir yesterday. We talked about chronic angina and what I can do for it. And I know you have that problem too.



Female

Yes I do.



Donnette

What do you do? How do you handle it?



Female

I have a really excellent cardiologist. I - I have a good relationship with him. But the reason I didn't want to tell him was I did not want to have to go through one more surgery, or one more medication; I'm on so many. But I'm glad that I did.



Donnette

That's fantastic.



Tom

I'm really proud of Donnette. The things that she does, knowing the problems that she has, the pains that she endures; it's really heartwarming to see how she cares. She shares the big heart that she has.



Donnette

You've got baseball practice all week?



Tom

Can we come watch?



Donnette

Spring is coming; the grandkids will be playing baseball, and we try to go to as many games as we can.



Tom

The grandkids are just her - her delight.



Donnette

Joy of our lives. We have a great time with them.



Dana

My mother is one of - one of a million with everything that she's been through - wow, I get teary thinking about it. But she's my rock, and she's my role model.



Dr. Steve Bakir

It's good to see you here.



Donnette

It's extremely important to be open and honest with your doctor. And I learned that at a - at kind of a late date. The pain that you're having, anything, any symptoms that you're having at all, they've got to know that so that they'll know how to treat you. And it's - so it's extremely important to be upfront and honest with your cardiologist.



Speak from your heart.



If you experience angina that doesn't go away with rest or nitroglycerin, seek immediate medical attention.