I'm a Survivor

For USC Aiken staff member, annual heart walk is personal

Aiken, SC (03/30/2022) — Staff members at the University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken) recently took part in the CSRA's annual American Heart Association (AHA) Heart Walk, the AHA's premier event for raising funds to save lives from this country's No. 1 and No. 5 killers - heart disease and stroke. For Mandi Welch, administrative assistant in the Division of Student Affairs, taking part in the walk was personal.

Mandi does not remember most of the events that took place on August 2, 2011.

"I was at my house and apparently called my mom and told her I was in the worst pain of my life," Mandi said. She was experiencing excruciating pain in her chest and struggled to breathe. Her mother lived five miles away and told her to call her neighbor for immediate help.

"I called my neighbor and she brought over baby aspirin and one of us called the ambulance. The ambulance and my mom got there at the same time." Mandi coded in the ambulance on the way to University Hospital.

She had had a massive heart attack at 41 years old with no previous heart problems, no high blood pressure, and no high cholesterol. In retrospect, she attributes the heart attack to stress.

Her doctors say that without the baby aspirin from her neighbor, she almost surely would have died. "I had 90% blockage of my left anterior descending valve and the aspirin broke up the clot just enough to get me to the hospital," she said.

Mandi spent 11 days in the hospital and was in a coma for seven. While in a coma, she had a near-death experience during which she reports being visited by her deceased grandmother, Margaret Presnell. "I had been really close to my grandmother in life and didn't get the closure I needed from her death. After seeing her again, I feel like I got that closure."

When Mandi was released from the hospital, she had 60% damage to her heart as a direct result of the heart attack. Miraculously, one year later, after changing her diet and starting a routine exercise regimen, her doctors reported that her heart looked normal again. But for Mandi, the trauma of the event remained.

"After the heart attack, I was terrified that it would happen again and I wouldn't go anywhere outside of a 20-mile radius of University Hospital," she said. "Eventually, I went to therapy to work through post-traumatic stress disorder. My therapist had me put a death plan together as a way to face my mortality. And I don't go anywhere without my nitroglycerin."

She stresses the importance of self-care. "Please take care of yourself mentally and physically. Some people don't think that stress can cause illness, but it can. Your mind has to be right before you can get anything else right." Mandi has been taking yoga at the university's wellness center and sings its praises. She also visits her cardiologist every six months.

In August 2021, her cardiologist convinced her it was time to lose some weight. Since then she has lost 56 pounds and her blood pressure has significantly lowered. She credits the weight loss to a simple combination of diet and exercise. Weekly meal prepping helps her to stay on track.

Naturally, when Amanda Byers, director of the Student Health Center at USC Aiken, approached her about participating in the AHA Heart Walk, she was on board. Ironically, her late grandmother, Margaret, worked for the AHA in Knoxville, Tennessee.

"I spent summers with her in Knoxville and would go to work with her and stuff envelopes or whatever else was asked of me as a volunteer. So when Amanda came to me and said they were doing a heart walk I said I want to do it, sign me up."

Mandi raised the most money on the USC Aiken team. "I raised over $800 and that was mostly from staff and students," she said. "I never knew the people here cared about me so much."

Since her heart attack, Mandi reports an increased ability to forgive and an increased feeling of closeness to God.

According to heart.org, warning signs of a heart attack include:

Chest Discomfort: Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

Discomfort in Other Areas of the Upper Body: Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.

Shortness of Breath: with or without chest discomfort

Other Signs: may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.

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