For more than four years, Rosie dealt with a variety of seemingly unrelated ailments. Unexplainable weight gain, shortness of breath, stomach pain and a racing heart beat. She went from doctor to doctor looking for answers. One physician told her it was ulcers. Another doctor in Chicago went as far as removing her gall bladder only to discover it was perfectly fine.

Her condition continued to deteriorate. “I had to stop traveling with my husband... I just couldn’t walk through the airports. I couldn’t even climb 3 or 4 steps without having to stop to catch my breath,” Rosie recalls. The pain and discomfort became unbearable. “I was in a lot of pain and my heart was jumping like it was going to come out of my chest. It took all my strength just to walk.”

Finally, Rosie’s sister insisted she go to the emergency room at Bon Secours Maryview. There Rosie discovered the source of all her ailments and years of discomfort... it was her heart. This was quite a surprise to Rosie. She was unaware that women’s symptoms for heart disease could differ from the classic symptoms typically associated with men’s heart disease. After a series of tests she remembers, “The doctors were amazed I hadn’t had a heart attack... they told me I had one valve that was leaking, another valve that was plugged and a big blood clot in the middle of my heart.”

Surgery to repair Rosie’s heart was an overwhelming success and all the ailments that kept her from enjoying life have faded. “Today, I’m wonderful! I feel like a brand new person. I don’t feel old any more.” What she remembers the most is, “I got a whole lot of love and care.” Rosie is enjoying her regained health and vigor. She plans to use it by joining a health club and starting a new career.