As years went by and Susan Nelson’s heart valve deteriorated, everyday tasks slipped out of reach. She could no longer clean her house. Walking, getting out of bed, dressing, and grocery shopping became exhausting ordeals.
Surgery saved her life, but it was just the beginning of her recovery.
“I couldn’t really do anything anymore,” said Susan, 68, a dietary technician at Kadlec Regional Medical Center. “The heart surgeon said I had a year to live.”
In August of 2025, Dr. Abdelazim Hashim, interventional cardiologist at Kadlec, replaced her valve. The surgery was successful, but recovery proved challenging.
“After my surgery, I thought I’d be out running around, doing great,” she said. “I wasn’t. I had spent years getting into the state I was in. It wasn’t realistic to think that I would just pop up after surgery and be fine.”
Her cardiologist referred her to Kadlec Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation to help her improve strength and function. The program includes supervised exercise, cardiac monitoring, medication, nutrition counseling, stress management, and support.
The referral marked a turning point in her recovery. When she began therapy, she was so weak that she could not do most of the exercises, including the treadmill and lifting light weights.
Today, she can walk for up to half an hour on a treadmill and is lifting progressively heavier weights—activities that once felt impossible.
“I didn’t know anything about rehab, or what it could do,” she said. “It is amazing. They are all there, rooting for you, taking care of you, and making sure you are not working too hard. One day, they came up to me and asked me to slow down a bit. That is very comforting when you are recovering from a heart issue.”
Susan started cardiac rehabilitation in October of 2025 and graduated in December. She now attends open gym time three times a week at the Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation gym in the Kadlec Healthplex, an opportunity offered to patients so they can continue their progress.
“I do not want to lose the progress I have made, and I want to continue making progress and feeling like I can get out and do things,” she said. “Now, I can clean my house, mop the floor, clean my bathroom and do the laundry. Do I like doing things? No, I do not, but I can. I can do all of it.”
Along the way, Susan has found a sense of community in the rehabilitation gym, where the staff have become both teachers and cheerleaders.
“When I walk in, they are ‘Hi! Glad to see you back!’ I feel like I am with my people,” she said. “My surgeon was great. My cardiologist was great. But the progress I have made is because of the cardiac rehab program.”
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