Portage resident Mike Matthew suffered cardiac arrest in December 2016. He now has an implanted defibrillator to guard against future cardiac arrests. After his discharge, Matthew opted to enter cardiac rehab at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, as it was close to his workplace at Inland Steel.
“When I first came in, I felt a shortness of breath and tiredness,” he says. “As I was coming in three days a week, I felt that tired feeling starting to leave. By the end of the two months, I felt considerably better in regards to my overall physical and mental wellbeing.”
Matthew retired June 1 of last year, but he continues to participate in Phase 3 at St. Catherine Hospital where he says his fellow patients have become a kind of family. His wife, Cathy, now joins him for his workouts.
Fran Clark, cardiac rehab supervisor at St. Catherine Hospital, says the supportive environment created by the staff and by the camaraderie among the patients plays a large role in the program’s success.
“We try to increase their functional capacity and strength,” she says. ”But it’s also about the support, motivation and gentle encouragement that we give them to do a little bit more.”
“This is like their own little family,” she says.
For more information about the cardiac rehabilitation services available through the hospitals of Community Healthcare System, visit COMHS.org/heart.
