Heart Scene: A Journey of Discovery and Recovery

by: Tony Mussari

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On Sunday, October 28, Windsor Park Stories will begin one of the most ambitious projects in the history of our series. We call it Heart Scene: A Journey of Discovery and Recovery.

It is a personal story. It is my story about heart disease, open heart surgery, a second chance at life and all of the wonderful people Kitch and I met during the single greatest medical challenge of our lives.

You see, on Memorial Day 2007, I experienced two major cardiac events that led to tests, hospitalization and surgery. It is now 16 weeks since my open heart surgery. Three days a week I participate in a cardiac rehabilitation program with a wonderful group of people.

The rest of my time is devoted to producing our Heart Scene Journey, and what a journey it has been. It reunited us with important people in our lives that we had not seen in a long time. It connected us with a group of King's College graduates who literally saved my life. It introduced us to a team of doctors, nurses and technicians at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital who are among the best in their field.

The leader of this team is Dr. Michael Harostock. Together with his wife, Beverly, they did everything in their power to help us with this project. If it is a success, it is because of their help.

For Kitch and me, my quadruple by-pass surgery was one of the most positive learning experiences of our lives, and one that we will never forget.

Our understanding of what happened to us is real. Our gratitude is unmeasurable. We are working hard day by day to build our strength and fully recover.

The only way we can reciprocate for the kindness we have experienced is to tell the story so that others will know about the human and community treasures that are here in the Wyoming Valley.

We hope that our Heart Scene Journey will help others to identify the signs of heart disease and get early intervention. We hope these episodes of Windsor Park Stories will lay to rest the popular myth that you must go outside our region to get quality medical care.

We hope that Heart Scene: A Journey of Discovery and Recovery will help many unsuspecting, potential heart patients to take the steps that are necessary to guarantee a healthy heart.

So we ask you to join us on October 28, Sunday morning at 11:30 on WBRE TV as we take the first step on our Heart Scene Journey.

We think it's a series of programs that could add years to your life.

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