Shownotes
Hey Heart Buddies! I welcome back Robyn Peacock for an update on her incredible journey for “Hope for the Holidays." This conversation is packed with Robyn’s reflections on her battles with an aortic aneurysm and bicuspid aortic valve. Learn about her physical triumphs and the often-overlooked mental health challenges that many heart patients face post-treatment. Robyn shares her newfound purpose working with Heart Valve Voice and how she brings hope and support to fellow heart patients. Plus, a special revelation about the rising buzz around mental health at cardiac conferences. Tune in to find out why this episode could be the emotional boost you need this holiday season. Subscribe and join Boots and Robyn as they dive into the importance of community, self-advocacy, and listening to your body’s signals.
You can hear Robyn's original interview here.
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Transcripts
We're all so lucky to have each other. I do want to share something that
Speaker:I've been hearing in my work with Heart valve Voice at these conferences I've
Speaker:been attending. Mental health is starting to get a buzz
Speaker:post treatment mental health. We're really trying to get
Speaker:the buzz going because it is a common theme
Speaker:in all the patients I talk to and no one is made aware
Speaker:of the potential mental processing that you need to
Speaker:do after you go through any type of a
Speaker:treatment that, you know, we all process differently.
Speaker:Welcome to Open Heart Surgery with Boots. I am
Speaker:your host, Boots Knighton and I'm excited to
Speaker:bring back Robin Peacock today for our
Speaker:Hope for the Holiday series. This has been such a
Speaker:great series. If you're just now finding us, welcome.
Speaker:I am honored that you have found this podcast and it
Speaker:is such a privilege to bring this
Speaker:to heart patients every week. And so please do find us
Speaker:on social media. You can find me on LinkedIn, go back and
Speaker:listen to previous episodes. I'm building a spoken
Speaker:library for heart patients and their caregivers
Speaker:and healthcare providers. So thank you for being part
Speaker:of this podcast. But today I am
Speaker:so happy to bring Robin Peacock, who has become a friend of
Speaker:mine, back to give us an update on her
Speaker:bicuspid journey. Robin, you are such a
Speaker:force of nature at 61 years old and
Speaker:you are thriving. You're giving back to heart
Speaker:patients. It really is amazing to
Speaker:see some heart patients just go about with their
Speaker:lives and that's fine. We're all here to do different things in the
Speaker:world. But you have made it a mission now to serve
Speaker:fellow heart patients like myself. And so it was just a no brainer
Speaker:trainer to bring you back for the series. So welcome.
Speaker:Thank you, Boots. It's, it is my pleasure to come back
Speaker:and just knowing you has enriched my life. And I'm just
Speaker:like I've told you, I'm in awe of what you're doing for all heart patients
Speaker:around the world and letting everyone have access to
Speaker:all these great interviews. It's just I enjoy listening to them and so
Speaker:thank you. So here we are a year later. I think I was on your
Speaker:show a year ago and just to give a brief overview
Speaker:of my journey, in 2007, I
Speaker:was diagnosed with an ascending aortic aneurysm and a bicuspid
Speaker:aortic valve. And I was watched for, you know,
Speaker:the next 15 years until my valve became severely
Speaker:stenotic, aortic stenosis. And I started feeling horrible.
Speaker:I started having extreme fatigue six months leading
Speaker:up to the surgery and my brain fog, you know,
Speaker:definitely I was forgetful and tired, and I just
Speaker:felt like I was 30 years older and I didn't understand what was
Speaker:happening. I ended up having surgery in June of
Speaker:2022. Now, really quick going back in 1998,
Speaker:when I was pregnant with my first child, they heard a murmur. And
Speaker:in the 90s, mitral valve prolapse was kind of a
Speaker:thing that people were being diagnosed with when they heard a murmur. So I was
Speaker:diagnosed with that. I did not have that. They missed the bicuspid
Speaker:valve, and they missed the aneurysm. So two full
Speaker:cardiac workups in 1998 and 2002, they missed
Speaker:it both times. And so it wasn't until I did a coronary
Speaker:calcium scan in 2007, and that's how it was
Speaker:diagnosed. That's where they found the aneurysm. And then
Speaker:through that, we found the bicuspid valve. So that just kind of brings you up
Speaker:to speed to 2022. 2022, I had open
Speaker:heart surgery at Cedars Sinai. It was super successful. I have
Speaker:recovered 100% physically, mentally.
Speaker:It's something that I think what I'm learning two and a
Speaker:half years out, I thought that I was one and done, and I had recovered
Speaker:and moving forward. And recently I participated in a
Speaker:therapeutic support group, and they brought me to tears because I
Speaker:think I still have some reconciliation to do about the magnitude of
Speaker:what I went through. And I'm a super positive,
Speaker:upbeat person, and I think I'm not allowing myself to
Speaker:feel some of the fear that I think
Speaker:I need to process now. So I'm. That's kind of where I'm at in,
Speaker:you know, the end of 2024. I'm starting to feel like I need
Speaker:to do some more introspection, some more therapy, work
Speaker:on kind of releasing. The fear of what
Speaker:I went through never allowed me to have. Never allowed it to happen.
Speaker:So, anyways, that's kind of where I'm at now on the
Speaker:mental side. Physically, I'm great. Physically, I'm great. I go for my
Speaker:checkup next month, and I'm looking forward to another
Speaker:great echo and another year of no
Speaker:appointments. But the greatest thing. Can I just share with you what I'm
Speaker:so excited, and I know you know about it, Boots, but I'm so excited to
Speaker:share with all of your listeners, is that through this journey, I
Speaker:have found a new purpose. I have found something that gives
Speaker:me such great fulfillment. And
Speaker:I am so excited to wake up every day because I get to Talk to
Speaker:patients. I get to go out and reach out to people. I accepted a
Speaker:role with Heart Valve Voice Us, and I am the director of patient
Speaker:engagement, which means I get to go out and talk to people. I get
Speaker:to listen to stories, I get to share resources,
Speaker:I get to make connections. And
Speaker:it's so fulfilling to me. I've always been in the
Speaker:nonprofit world and now focusing on
Speaker:heart health and women heart health, men heart
Speaker:health. It just makes me so happy when I hear someone
Speaker:come back to me and say, oh my gosh, I shared your story with
Speaker:my neighbor. And she ended up getting an
Speaker:appointment because she wasn't feeling well. And she's
Speaker:now, you know, having tavr because her valve was failing
Speaker:or. I just love it. I just absolutely love
Speaker:that I get to be out in the world meeting people and talking
Speaker:to people. And I feel like, I mean, I was super
Speaker:grateful after my open heart surgery in terms of just
Speaker:getting my, quote, second heart start is what I've always called it. But
Speaker:now I just feel like I'm. There's a reason
Speaker:why my heart got started the second time,
Speaker:and I get to just be out there and listen and help
Speaker:others through their journey. A lot of people I speak to are newly
Speaker:diagnosed and there's a lot of fear and
Speaker:uncertainty. And so between
Speaker:our other organization, Women Heart and Heart Valve Voice,
Speaker:you know, I pretty much have all bases covered. I can talk to people all
Speaker:over the country, all over the world, and just be a
Speaker:shoulder for some people. Yeah, so it's, it's super
Speaker:exciting. So there's, there's kind of where I'm. At today, and you turn
Speaker:into a glow bug when you talk about all of that. So it's very obvious
Speaker:that you are in your purpose. And, you
Speaker:know, it's interesting. I'm glad you bring up that. Processing the
Speaker:fear piece. Through my own journey of
Speaker:processing a variety of traumas, physical
Speaker:traumas in my life, what I've noticed is when an
Speaker:emotion is ready to be processed, it comes up.
Speaker:And when I think about facing heart
Speaker:surgery, you know, you and I and those listening
Speaker:who are going through the same thing, we don't have time
Speaker:necessarily to feel all our feelings because we're trying to
Speaker:survive. We, you know, we have to get to right to
Speaker:business of surviving, then healing. And
Speaker:then there's the expectation that we're going to
Speaker:return to our lives and get on with our lives.
Speaker:And I want to give permission to
Speaker:a feel whatever's coming up, but be just
Speaker:recognized that 2022 wasn't that long
Speaker:ago. No, no, you make a great
Speaker:point. And the emotion will come up when it.
Speaker:When you're. When it's ready or when you're in. A space to feel
Speaker:it, when the soul, the body, feels safe. And so
Speaker:you just mentioned all these incredible people that you get to.
Speaker:To mentor and network with. And
Speaker:you're working for Heart Valve Voice. We're heart buddies.
Speaker:You've made heart buddies through other avenues. And
Speaker:so, dare I say it, your body is probably finally
Speaker:feeling safe enough to allow that fear to come up.
Speaker:That's. That's good. When I'm in a room filled with
Speaker:heart patients, it does feel safe. It's very
Speaker:interesting you bring that up. I know we just saw each other at the Mayo
Speaker:Clinic for the symposium. And one of the
Speaker:things I always come away from those meetings is
Speaker:I'm surrounded by people who get it. And it's
Speaker:very therapeutic to listen to other stories and how they
Speaker:overcame certain things and how they processed.
Speaker:And we're all in this life together.
Speaker:And I don't know, there's just such value to
Speaker:be able to share stories and to listen to other stories
Speaker:and be able to kind of help process your own
Speaker:journey. It's definitely helpful. So that's a. That's interesting
Speaker:you say that. That it's because. Remember my. I think I said
Speaker:it in the first episode, all Faith, no fear.
Speaker:May 6. I was told I was having surgery in 30 days, and I just
Speaker:went on this high plane of all faith, no fear. And I just didn't allow
Speaker:it. I had no other option, no other choice. I had to get
Speaker:to business, like you say, I had to get through open heart surgery. I had
Speaker:to survive it. I had to prepare my family. I had to prepare
Speaker:the household. For me to be, you know, not able to
Speaker:maintain it for a month or two, there was just so much to do. I
Speaker:went on this higher plane, and I do. I do believe in God, and
Speaker:I do believe that he and the angels were with me. And so
Speaker:that is a very big part of my story, is my
Speaker:faith. But I. Interesting. I am in a
Speaker:much safer space now. You are correct, and I'm
Speaker:so grateful. And that's one of the many purposes of this
Speaker:podcast, is also to provide a safe space. Right. And
Speaker:so we helped you tell your story
Speaker:a year ago, and that started you on a really
Speaker:interesting path. But then reaching out to other heart patients,
Speaker:and if I may pat myself on the back here,
Speaker:you're not the only heart patient that I've helped find.
Speaker:Like, several heart patients have found their purpose through this
Speaker:podcast. And that is what this is all about. It's
Speaker:like we are going to carry each other
Speaker:over the finish line of open heart surgery because we
Speaker:can't expect the medical community to do it for us. Yes,
Speaker:they can save our lives. They can fix our valves and our
Speaker:myocardial bridges and clogged arteries, and thank
Speaker:goodness for that. But then we have to hug each other
Speaker:afterwards. We have to help with the mental spiritual part that
Speaker:the, that the Western medical community just isn't trained to do, nor do
Speaker:they have the time or the bandwidth. We need to know what we're getting
Speaker:when we go there. And it's not necessarily an empty well for
Speaker:water, but it's close. Right. And so. Right. Just enough
Speaker:to quench our thirst, Just enough to save our lives. And then,
Speaker:and then this podcast, Heart Valve Voice,
Speaker:Women, Heart achd, American Heart association,
Speaker:all these other nonprofits are, are here to
Speaker:help educate us and help us, teach us how to advocate for
Speaker:ourselves. You know, that's absolutely. A hundred percent. That is.
Speaker:You know, one of my greatest takeaways is because, you know,
Speaker:my husband calls me the hypochondriac who's always right. Because I'm a
Speaker:huge advocate for myself and I
Speaker:pursue it until I'm satisfied with the answer or satisfied
Speaker:that I've pursued enough of the options out
Speaker:there, not just for open heart surgery, but for anything that I've experienced over
Speaker:my life. You know, definitely, I am the expert on me.
Speaker:So we're also lucky to have each other. I. I do want to share something
Speaker:that I've been hearing in my work with Heart Valve Voice at these conferences
Speaker:I've been attending. Mental health is starting to get a
Speaker:buzz post treatment. Mental health. We're
Speaker:really trying to get the buzz going because it is a
Speaker:common theme in all the patients I talk to.
Speaker:And no one is made aware of the potential
Speaker:mental processing that you need to do after you go
Speaker:through any type of a treatment that, you know,
Speaker:we all process differently. So what. What affects me might not
Speaker:affect you. And. But there is a mental health buzz starting, and
Speaker:I'm super excited about it because I'm bringing it up with
Speaker:every physician I talk to, every conference I attend. Like, well, what about
Speaker:the mental health piece after you see the patient? Are you referring. Is
Speaker:there a questionnaire? Can we develop a questionnaire? Can we start a
Speaker:module to train on, you know, a CME
Speaker:basis to look out for certain things?
Speaker:Yeah. And I know when I was pregnant with my second
Speaker:child, I went through a Super deep postpartum depression after
Speaker:I gave birth. And thankfully, my OB was trained in
Speaker:the signs and called me in because
Speaker:he knew something wasn't right and I didn't
Speaker:see it at all. And I'm so grateful that he had
Speaker:that training is what I'm saying. And I think if we can continue to work
Speaker:in the cardio world for that training, that would be great. And
Speaker:that's a great segue. To wrap this up is to wrap up the
Speaker:series. I interview Dr. Laura
Speaker:Suarez Pardo, who you and I had the pleasure of
Speaker:meeting at the Mayo Clinic together. Oh. And
Speaker:she and I. I've already interviewed her. I'm going to air
Speaker:it in December of 2024. And we
Speaker:had a brilliant conversation on the
Speaker:connection between mental health and cardiovascular
Speaker:outcomes. And so I thought that would be a great way
Speaker:to bookend Hope for the Holidays. Oh, I'm so
Speaker:excited. It's a brilliant conversation. So for
Speaker:those listening, you know, in real time, her
Speaker:episode comes out after this one, so be
Speaker:sure to be looking out for, if you haven't already subscribe to the
Speaker:podcast number one, and then number two, then be
Speaker:looking for that episode. And you know what? Not only is
Speaker:she just brilliant, but just the nicest human
Speaker:and is really, really deeply
Speaker:invested in our mental health. We heart
Speaker:patients. And it shows. So
Speaker:fantastic. That gave me hope for the holidays.
Speaker:Good, good. Holidays are hard. They're not easy.
Speaker:Golly, get me through these things. But when January
Speaker:2nd rolls around, I'm, like, made it through another one.
Speaker:Hallelujah.
Speaker:Well, Robin, any, like, quick advice you'd like
Speaker:to give heart patients now that you've had a year to reflect since
Speaker:our last recording? Listen to your heart,
Speaker:listen to your body. I mean, that's, that's. We can't drum
Speaker:that loud enough and we just can't. Just
Speaker:listen to yourself and trust yourself, trust your gut, trust that you
Speaker:know something is off. I just heard someone yesterday talking about sharp
Speaker:pain between her shoulder blades, and she knew
Speaker:something was off. And sure enough, something was off.
Speaker:And you just know, you have an instinct, you
Speaker:know? So please, please, please listen. And I hope everyone
Speaker:takes good care of themselves for the next year and every year after that.
Speaker:Thanks, Robin. Thanks for coming back. Thank you. It's always good to see you. All
Speaker:right. Happy holidays. Yes, and thank
Speaker:you, listeners. Like I said, be sure to tune in
Speaker:for as the series wraps up. And then I'm going
Speaker:to re air a couple of episodes episodes to round out 2024,
Speaker:the ones that have been downloaded the most in 2024. So
Speaker:our greatest hits. And I want to thank
Speaker:listeners in Peru, Lebanon
Speaker:and Paraguay. I've been on the Apple
Speaker:charts all the way up to number four in Paraguay,
Speaker:actually just this week. And so I am seeing you in
Speaker:Peru, Lebanon and Paraguay way. Thank you for finding me. I'm
Speaker:so glad you're here. Do let me know what you need in those
Speaker:countries. You can send me an email bootsheartchamber
Speaker:podcast.com and most importantly,
Speaker:know that you aren't alone. I love you and your
Speaker:heart is your best friend. Come back next week.
