February 5, 2025 • 29 mins
February is American Heart Month, and the American Heart Association encourages you to learn CPR and Join the Nation of Lifesavers. Our guests are Heather Smart, Senior Development Director for the American Heart Association, and Deb Devor-Mullins, a multiple stroke survivor and Chair for the 2025 Heart Walk, June 21st. www.heart.org/nation www.heartwalk.org
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is the Wichita Weekend podcast from iHeartRadio Stations ninety
seven point nine, B ninety eight one oh two to one,
The Bowl Channel nine six three and ALT one oh
seven three. I'm your host, Don Guidis. Thanks for joining us.
Welcome to Wichita Weekend. We're a podcast now. We're the
very regular podcast focusing on Wichita public affairs, issues and events.
(00:26):
And we are here with some representatives from the American
Heart Association Wichita because February is Heart Month. And together
we have Heather Smarts, she's the senior development director for
the American Heart Association here in Wichda. We also have
Deb Devoor Mullins, who is a multiple stroke survivor, and
we'll have Deb share some of her story a little
(00:47):
later in the program. But Heather, let's kick it off
with you. What is Heart Month all about?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah, so Heart Month is every February, and it's been
recognized that for decades. It started really with back I
think in the man I gotta get the dates wrong,
maybe in the fifties, but President Johnson suffered a heart
attack and one of his cardiologists was one of the
founders of the American Heart Association, and so they recognized
(01:14):
Heart Month as February as a way to recognize the
impact that the Heart Association has throughout the country. So
throughout the month of February, we take the time as
an organization to recognize risk factors and stories that are
in our community of people that have been impacted by
heart disease and just really go read all month long
(01:35):
and talk about ways people can support and hear Like
I mentioned stories of people that have been impacted to
help bring awareness and attention to what's going on in
our community. So that's what Yeah, that's what we're up
to is visiting a lot of places and talking about
heart health all month long.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Is that all?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
That's it all we're doing.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
I was going, man, that is a huge menu of
offerings there going on in the month of February. And
so you have not slept since the first of the month.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
No, we had Heartball in which John February first, So
we had an amazing event that raised amazing dollars for
the organization that goes back into our community for programs
and services and education. And so we're just on our tour.
We're on our Heart Month tour and started it off
with great fundraising and now just doing community education and
dialogue around how people listening can take part in what we're.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Up to spreading the word. And there's still fun things
happening this month.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Right, Yes, Yeah, February seventh is a National wear Red Day,
and so that's a day for folks to be able
to wear red all day long, and it brings awareness
to cardiovascular disease being women's number one killer. We've made
a lot of improvements around women being aware that cardiovascular
disease is their number one killer, but it still outranks
(02:53):
every other disease as the leading cause of death for women.
So we have a lot of work to do and
so on that first Friday of February is when it's
recognized every year, and so we get the opportunity to
talk about women's heart health and ask people to wear
red in honor of someone that they love and just
talk about it in their place of work, amongst their
family and bring awareness to it. So hopefully and someday
(03:17):
it's not the leading cause of death and women are
living longer with heart disease and hopefully not suffering it
at all.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Let's wear red on Friday. Coincidentally, the day that we're
doing this interview. We're having a kind of a fun
Chief's Day around the radio station here, so a lot
of us are in bright red Chiefs colors. So that's
kind of a coincidental thing going with American Heart Association.
Plus with Valentine's Day coming up, you know, it's a
(03:44):
great time of year to wear red. Plus it's warmer.
It just feels warmer to have the warm color on, right.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, it does help that it will be Chiefs Friday too,
so people will already be wearing red for the Chiefs.
But we'll take it as a nod to the hardest.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
There you go, There you go. Let's visit with Deb
for a little bit since Deb has been patiently waiting.
Deb Devor Mullins. We know Deb well from White Eagle
Credit Union, but she is here today on a slightly
different mission because Deb, you're a multiple stroke survivor. Tell
(04:17):
us your story, my friend.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Well, back in twenty seventeen, I pretty much ignored all
the symptoms I was having and I wound up having.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
A stroke at work. Oh my yes, I actually had
an artery dissection.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
I was having trouble with a horrible headache, clenching of teeth,
and then I started smelling something burning, and I asked
everyone in the office if they could smell it burning,
and everyone looked at me like.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
I was a little bit crazy. So shortly after that,
there was a loud pop in my neck.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
To me, it was very loud. I don't know if
anyone else could feel it, but it felt like a
rubber band had broke. It was literally to find out
later was I had a blood clot and it shot
through my artery and it dissected it and it caused
my stroke.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
So the clot just dissected your.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Artery, yes, and it was in there and I had
no clue. And then so when it dissected, the blood
clot went and it hit my brain of course, and
then I caused my stroke. But being the person I was,
and I ignored the symptoms.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
And went home.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
So you had had a stroke and you didn't do
anything about it.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
No, Because I thought, this is stupid and this is
just ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
So I literally went home, okay, okay, and I went
to sleep, which everything I did was wrong, absolutely wrong.
I went to sleep, and when I woke up, my
face was drooping and everything, and.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
I knew then. Now, when I.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
First had the stroke, shall we say, at work, I
kind of was like in the back of my mind, going,
I know something's really wrong, but ignored it.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
The one thing I did was I put my hands out.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Which they say put your hands up, you know, and
I was thinking it was as a robbery and I
put my hands straight up in the air, and that's
not what they mean.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
They mean put them out in front of you.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
And then that will show your arms if one drops
and stuff like that, that will show the weakness immediately.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Oh man, wow, so you had known this prior to
prior to the event. You were you were aware of how.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
To behave, how to behave except I had it wrong.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
You had it wrong, but you but you had the
basics of it right.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yes, and I still ignored it.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Oh my, Well, yeah, yeah, I don't think you're all
that unusual. I sure didn't know. I don't know. So yeah. Wow.
Now is there another stroke after that?
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Yes? Actually I had several.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Because I had a dissection, I had blood clots, little
blood cloths.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
That continued to ping.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
My doctor immediately referred me over to doctor Mayan's neurologists,
and he immediately knew that it was a dissection.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
And so then I spent They got me on blood dinner,
and so they were trying to thin my blood because
I missed the time for the shot. You're supposed to
get a shot right after you have a stroke, so
they were thinning my blood. But on Christmas Eve, I
had another major stroke and then I wound up in
Saint Francis. And then when I was in Saint Francis,
(07:42):
I had one in my brainstem on Christmas Day, so
I wound up staying there for quite a while.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
So Deb, I've known you for a while and I
didn't know this, this full story. Wow, that's mind boggling.
You're kind of a miracle to be here.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
I yeah, yes, I am.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I by the grace of God. You know, I had
a lot of people praying through all of that. My dissection,
I learned when I was in the hospital, is inoperable.
So I just say on my blood thinners and wow,
keep going. My last stroke was actually of March twenty one,
so yeah, March twenty twenty one.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
But we're doing good. We're doing good.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So after that one in March of twenty one, then
you say that was the most recent one. How did
that one go?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
I mean, well, that one was really crazy. I didn't
know I was sound asleep. My dog Maggie woke me
up in my sleep. She kept pawing at me, and
when I woke up, I realized that my whole right
side was gone and that was my last stroke.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
And your dog, Maggie somehow knew that something was going on.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Absolutely new that dog, And she even has she's white
and black and she even has a heart on a
black heart on her side.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
So she is my precious dog.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
She stays near me a lot when I met home
and stuff. But yeah, a story, Wow, it's been pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
So yeah, well, okay, so through all this, I'm going
to guess that you were getting curious and you wanted
to educate yourself on how best to move forward dealing
with all this. So you got in touch with the
American Heart Association.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Yes, and reached out to Crystal a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Reached out to her friend, Crystal Steed, Crystal Cheryl Steed,
who is here with us today in the studio.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Yeah, Yeah, reached out with her and just kind of
wanted to get involved and you know, help other people
realize you know some of the symptoms and stuff like that.
And then also as a survivor, you know that to
keep going, you know, and give yourself grace and everything.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
And that was kind of when my.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Part was as a survivor, because some people just don't
get it to keep moving.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Wow, So warning signs that you ignored, Do you remember
some of the biggest ones, Like you say.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
The biggest one was my headache, It was a very
different headache, and chalk it up, I did know it
was a different headache and I started clinching my teeth
and that should have been probably one of my big ones.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Right, Yeah. I mean women in general, for a stroke,
we say fast so facial drooping, our weakness. So when
she's telling her story about raising her arms up, that
didn't pick up on the weakness. So had they gone out,
would have seen one was weak, so our weakness. Slurred
speech is another one that usually not everybody has it
(10:43):
with a stroke, but a lot of times as we
hear stories at the organization, that's one of the ones
people recognize immediately is the person was trying to say
something and it wasn't clear to the person on the
other end. And then if you've noticed any of those,
then it's to get to the hospital. And as Deb
was saying, time is crucial because moments from when you
(11:06):
have your stroke to when you get there, different medications
can become involved. And so if it gets too long
from when your stroke happened to when you make it
to the hospital, it just changes your course of action.
And so then time continues to be most precious. And so, yeah,
those are the warning signs that we as an organization
talked so heavily about, and you know in Deb's story
(11:27):
she knew them. But it's just continuing that education about
what does it mean for arm weakness? What do I
need to look for, and how do I then get
where I need to go quickly. There was a volunteer
many years ago to that similar story. She was helping
her husband put a microwave in in their kitchen and
(11:49):
she had a headache. She went to lay down and
she started hollering for help, and he could not understand
what she was saying at all. And she was completely
frustrated because in her for her story, I'm telling you
what I need, I need help, But to the person
on the other end, they could not understand what they
(12:10):
were saying, So, yeah, those are the warning signs we
talk about. So people if they're noticing a loved one
experiencing any of those, they need to get They need
to get to the hospital quickly. And depending on where
you live too, being able to tell that to the person,
whether if you're on nine one one or on the
emergency response, being able to state these are the things
(12:32):
I'm seeing will help the emergency teams know what they're
dealing with. If you know, you say someone has their
their their arms are weak, or their faces weak, and
they have sort speech, those are the things our medical
community know how to respond to. They recognize the person's
having a stroke. We need to get them help immediately.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
The teeth clenching mm hmmm. Does that go with the
headache or did it go with the headache? Do you
you felt like the two were related or is that
riped my hand?
Speaker 4 (13:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Wow, it totally went with my headache, and I knew.
And I think that's another thing that I really want
to point out there. I ignored it because it can't
happen to me, right, you know? And that was my
biggest thing is I'm like, this doesn't happening to me.
You know and I thought I was too young for
any of that and.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
It was not.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
So yeah, it knows no age, it knows no gender,
it knows no anything. I mean, that's the thing with
heart disease is you just never know. And so the
more education we can do as a community to help
people be ready to respond in the event of a stroke,
in the event of a cardiac arrest, that's what we're
on a mission for is for people to be able
to know all of those just key things that will
(13:42):
help save life and to recognize this is an emergency
and this needs help regardless of what you're facing. Is
what we're really passionate about ensuring that our community members
are trained and ready and prepared to respond when things
like this happen.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Do you get a lot of general calls with questions.
Do you get people that call up and go, hey,
I've got chest pains or anything like that? I mean,
does that happen?
Speaker 2 (14:08):
We get a lot of calls in the community about
where can I become a CPR certified. That's what a
lot of our community is wanting to know.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
No.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, and as an organization, you know, we're talking a
lot and we have been for the last three years,
but especially this Heart Month around building a nation of
life savers. The bystander rate to cardiac arrest is very
very low, which means if someone goes into a cardiac arrest,
the response of someone standing there, jumping and knowing what
to do is very very low. Nine out of ten
(14:39):
people don't survive if they suffer cardiac arrest, and so
as an organization, we get a lot of calls for that.
We get a lot of calls on how do I
get my heart saver certified? But what we really want
community members to know is you don't have to be
trained or formally certified to save a life. We want
people to take time to know how do I do
(14:59):
hands only chess impressions and be able to act and
jump in quickly and immediately because the time is same
with the cardiac or s the time that someone is
not jumping in, performing chess impressions and getting nine one
one on the phone locating an AED if they're somewhere
that has one, that the person's chance of survival becomes
(15:22):
very very low. And so as an organization, one of
our goals by twenty thirty is to double or triple
that survivor rate for cardiac arrest and make sure more
community members just have that confidence and are prepared to
jump in and know this is not right. I need
to check for a pulse, I need to alert someone
next to me, call nine one one, is there an
(15:44):
AED around, and begin those chess compressions immediately. So that's
really this Hart month. What we're talking about as well
is how do how do we have more members in
our community become a part of that nation of life
savers so that way nine out of ten people aren't
losing their life to cardiac or as and we can
really cut that in half and have more people be
survivors and telling their stories. And because of the courageous
(16:08):
acts of bystanders, they were ready and they knew what
to do, regardless if it's recognizing stroke, recognizing someone's electrical
wiring of their heart is stopped and they're needing help.
And so that's what we take a lot of calls
about is just how does my company learn CPR. Is
there a way that we can get involved in what
you're doing? And we're in February now, but coming up
(16:31):
in June we have our Heart Walk, which why Eagle
and dev is our chair for that. But our Heartwalk's
whole message is around building a nation of life savers
and ensuring our community members have at least one person
in every household trained in CPR. I say, let's make
it too, because you don't want to be the person
that knows it and needs it. So that's what our
(16:53):
heart Walk coming up in June is really using our
community community face to talk about how do we talk
about hands only CPR, how we make sure all of
which john people around know how to respond and are
prepared to respond in the event of cardiac emergency.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Do you recommend a regular refresher on CPR training?
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I think you can never do it enough truly. Luckily,
with the Heart Association, you can go and watch a
ninety second video and it will talk to you about
the how fast to do it, which is one hundred
to one hundred and twenty beats per minute. You get
to practice that response time. What do you do if
someone goes down? So I don't think you can ever
practice it enough or be aware of it enough. When
(17:34):
you're in those settings, it's stressful, and so that is
what we want people to be familiar with, is have
it be you're ready, you know, because anxiety is going
to take over, adrenaline is going to take over. But
those steps are ingrained in you. You know, I need
to check for a pulse, I need to call nine
one one, I need to locate the AED and be
(17:57):
trained and ready to do that, and it becomes second
nature and you're just on autopilot at that moment in time.
We hope you never have to, but then again, if
you do, we want people to be prepared.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
In my case, I did get CPR training thirty years ago,
and while I was getting I'm going, God, I hope
I don't need to use this. Hope I don't need
to use this, And you know, I paid attention during
the class, but I thought to myself, Man, I hope
it never because, like you say, in a split second,
(18:31):
you've got to make a decision. You've got to understand
what's going on. I think regular, some kind of an
update or a regular refresher course would be brilliant.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
On that well, and so much has changed, and the
Heart Association is who writes the science for cardiac emergency
response and resuscitation, and so what a lot of people
ask us is do I have to do bress, rescue
BRESS and that's really where it's changed. For infants. In kids,
rescue breasts are for CPR encouraged in the event of
(19:04):
a drowning. For everyone else, just hands only CPR is
where the science has really changed. What that does is
it keeps blood moving to the vital organs and it
allows the emergency teams to then get there and then
take over. And so that's a lot of the questions is, oh,
my gosh, I haven't been trained in thirty years. What's changed.
Not requiring breasts anymore and just getting in and doing
(19:28):
palm to chest chess compressions and doing that at one
hundred to one hundred and twenty beats. And if you're
lucky and you're in a situation where you're with another person,
being able to lean on that other person to take
over because it's it's hard, it's tiring, it's a lot
of work. But when you're in that moment and you're
faced with this person has to survive, you do what
(19:50):
you have to to respond. And I'll share too, because
I know this is going out to people that live
in Kansas. This really impacts us. And one of the
things the organization the Heart Association is so focused on
this year is bringing CPR training to our dispatchers. Right now,
in the state of Kansas, it is not required that
(20:12):
every Kansas county has trained dispatchers that can give CPR
instruction over the phone. It's optional. We would like to
see it be mandatory that every CPR dispatcher or excuse me,
every nine to one to one dispatcher can help because
how helpless does that feel if you're on the phone
and you can't help the person on the other end.
(20:34):
So as an organization, we are invested in that this
year and seeing that get across the finish line in Wichita.
It's a part of our training teams. They are capable
and they are trained to do that. But when you
reach out into more rural areas, it becomes more of
a challenge. You might have less dispatchers that work, and
so it's not required out in those communities, and so
(20:55):
we care a lot about this. We want to make
sure people are surviving cardiac and we want to make
sure if you're calling for help, that first person you're
on the phone with has the proper training to be
able to help you and walk you through that. Our
state advocacy director explained it as it's like helping a
toddler ti the shoe in the middle of Kellogg. You
(21:16):
know that having your dispatcher be able to give you
proper instruction in a very high stress situation, it takes training.
It takes the proper techniques for that person to be
able to visit with someone on the other end of
the phone who's looking at their loved one who needs
help and coach them through that. And so that's a
(21:39):
cause we're deeply kept passionate about hope. By the end
of this session we'll see that pass and become a
law for all Kansas counties that our dispatchers are required
to have that training and tell them now it's community members.
We're asking them too to take their part, learn how
to do hands only CPR, understand how to respond so
then that way more people are surviving.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Do you have a website where we can go to
get a bunch of your information?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, yeah, Heart Yeah, heart dot org. Slash nation will
take you to everything you need to know about heart,
about cardiac or ass how to be a part of
our nation of life savers. And then just heart dot
organ General will take you to our overall page you
can learn more about, you know, the fast stroke signs
and fast warning signs that relate to Debbie's story. There's
(22:29):
a lot of great content on there. If you're interested
in heart healthy meals, getting involved with our local community,
you can definitely plug in there.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
That makes me think of a question I wanted to ask, Debbie.
How's life different for you now that you've survived these strokes?
Are you doing proactive things now in your life to
stay ahead ahead of the game.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
Yes, you know.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
There were a few things I had to relearn, such
as writing.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
And also handwriting. Handwriting not riding a horse.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Handwriting.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Riding a horse I won't do because my dissection. But
another thing is I learned was had to relearn to
throw a ball. And last year, as a heartwalk survivor,
I threw out the first pitch over at one of
the wind Surge games.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
So that was very interesting.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
My ball would go every I would be aiming straight ahead,
but it would go every other direction.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
There was I think I remember you telling me about that.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
It was actually was ready.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
It was great, but it didn't explain the significance of
throwing out that pitch, And so that had some meaning that.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Was pretty amazing and sewing. Sewing is one of the
things that I really had to relearn. I'm a quilter
and just to put a pattern back together right like
right now I'm working on my granddaughters Amimi.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I'm working on her christening.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Dress for baptism, and there's just different things that even
now today I have to look at something a little longer.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
To put it together.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
So and being proactive is actually what I'm doing with
American Heart Association. Just love this group here and helping
spread the word more, get more people involved in the
like with the Heart Walk.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
With everything.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
They need, more businesses, they need more people to just
become more involved.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Let's talk about Heart Walk. It's in June. We show
up and we walk. Where are we going to be walking?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
So it's on June twenty first, and so we walk
down at the ballpark, Okay, across the river and walk
through the river. But what our real call to auction
is is come out and walk with us. Absolutely, but
sign your company up to get involved deeply with the
Heart Association. Sign up to help raise funds that goes
back to that critical mission work that we're doing. Work
(25:05):
with your employees and make sure that they understand how
to do hands only CPR and then celebrate that with
us at the walk. So, of course we want thousands
of people out at the walk, but we want to
make sure if you sign up to participate, you're walking
away with something as well, and you're understanding what this
organization is doing in our community and the work that
requires that funds to be able to get it across
(25:26):
the finish line. And so we are excited on June
twenty first to have people out. The gates will open
at eight, the walk will be at nine, and we'll
walk in the morning and get people out to start
their day heart healthy and celebrate the work that the
organization is done this last year. And we know that
we're not done, but we hope that we'll bring new
people in and old friends in and be able to
(25:48):
just celebrate the mission, which is to help people live longer,
healthier lives.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Now, will you be walking and we'll be walking.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I'll be walking, DEVI will probably kick everything off. I
imagine you at the front.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
What you know that sounds so great to me? A
nice walk on a pleasant summer morning, and I know
it's going to be a great day.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
And it's a great day. There's lots of vendors out there.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
You know, you have your CPR going on, and it's
it's a party, it's a celebration, smiles all around.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
You've got survivors, you've got caregivers, you've got families. Yes,
you've got curious folks that want to learn more. Company.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
We want them all to come.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Out, want everybody to come out. So June twenty first, Ye,
do we need to preregister or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Yeah, if you go to Wichita heartwalk dot org you
can sign up your your friends and family team. If
you don't see your company on the list and you
want to be on the list, you can do that
as well. But which to heartwalk dot org will have
all the information on the event, and then you can
see who else in the community is participating and then
you can join join the great fun.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
All right, Wichita heartwalk dot com or dot org. See,
I was going to congratulate you making it easy to
remember u r L and here I blowed the podcast.
But it's a dot org, yes, dot r which to
heartwalk dot org and then also heart dot org slash
nation Yeah for all the information general CPR information, educate yourself,
(27:18):
educate your family, Educate your partner. If you're empty nesters.
You know, partners need to take care of each other
and look out for each other.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Well, you know, it's funny that you bring that up.
That was one of the stories we got to hear
in the last six months of a husband and wife
that were at home just watching TV and he went
into cardiac or rest and she thought he was joking
around and hollered over to him, and he wasn't wasn't
joking around. So she called nine one one, and fortunately
(27:50):
it was in which jaw that dispatcher had the training
and was able to give her instruction over the phone.
Thank god, he has survived. And so, yeah, you just
never know when you're going to need it, and you
hope you never do, but you also want to make
sure you're prepared in the event that you do. And yeah,
so partners, people with young kids, people that live alone.
(28:11):
I mean, we just want to make sure people have
all those tools to be prepared, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
And then know how to use them when the God
forbid the occasion happens.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Now, you hope you never have to, but you also
if you do, you want to be able to help
and jump in and make sure the other person survives.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
We've been visiting with Heather Smart, she's the Senior Development
director for the American Heart Association. Also Debbie devoorre Mullins,
multiple stroke survivor and our good friend with White Eagle
Credit Union. We've been talking about February being Heart Month
and all the things that we could be aware of
and the various ways that we can interact with the
(28:50):
American Heart Association. Get ready to be out there for
the Heart Walk in June and educate yourselves. Make the
most of this month. It'll hey in the long run.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
I think, yes, yes, I know. We talked about national
We're red Dan Friday. If anyone hears this and they
snap a photo themselves wearing red, be sure to tack
us on social media. Aha, Kansas. We'd love to see
how people and offices are going red on Friday, February seventh.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Okay, there's your challenge. There's your challenge. Keep that in
mind because it's coming up this Friday. All right, Thank
you so much ladies for being with us today on
the Wichita Weekend Podcast. We'll get this up and on
the internet right away and help spread some awareness about
Heart Month. All right, thanks so much for being with us.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
This has been the Wichita Weekend podcast produced by iHeartRadio
Wichita
This is the Wichita Weekend podcast from iHeartRadio Stations ninety
seven point nine, B ninety eight one oh two to one,
The Bowl Channel nine six three and ALT one oh
seven three. I'm your host, Don Guidis. Thanks for joining us.
Welcome to Wichita Weekend. We're a podcast now. We're the
very regular podcast focusing on Wichita public affairs, issues and events.
(00:26):
And we are here with some representatives from the American
Heart Association Wichita because February is Heart Month. And together
we have Heather Smarts, she's the senior development director for
the American Heart Association here in Wichda. We also have
Deb Devoor Mullins, who is a multiple stroke survivor, and
we'll have Deb share some of her story a little
(00:47):
later in the program. But Heather, let's kick it off
with you. What is Heart Month all about?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah, so Heart Month is every February, and it's been
recognized that for decades. It started really with back I
think in the man I gotta get the dates wrong,
maybe in the fifties, but President Johnson suffered a heart
attack and one of his cardiologists was one of the
founders of the American Heart Association, and so they recognized
(01:14):
Heart Month as February as a way to recognize the
impact that the Heart Association has throughout the country. So
throughout the month of February, we take the time as
an organization to recognize risk factors and stories that are
in our community of people that have been impacted by
heart disease and just really go read all month long
(01:35):
and talk about ways people can support and hear Like
I mentioned stories of people that have been impacted to
help bring awareness and attention to what's going on in
our community. So that's what Yeah, that's what we're up
to is visiting a lot of places and talking about
heart health all month long.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Is that all?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
That's it all we're doing.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
I was going, man, that is a huge menu of
offerings there going on in the month of February. And
so you have not slept since the first of the month.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
No, we had Heartball in which John February first, So
we had an amazing event that raised amazing dollars for
the organization that goes back into our community for programs
and services and education. And so we're just on our tour.
We're on our Heart Month tour and started it off
with great fundraising and now just doing community education and
dialogue around how people listening can take part in what we're.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Up to spreading the word. And there's still fun things
happening this month.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Right, Yes, Yeah, February seventh is a National wear Red Day,
and so that's a day for folks to be able
to wear red all day long, and it brings awareness
to cardiovascular disease being women's number one killer. We've made
a lot of improvements around women being aware that cardiovascular
disease is their number one killer, but it still outranks
(02:53):
every other disease as the leading cause of death for women.
So we have a lot of work to do and
so on that first Friday of February is when it's
recognized every year, and so we get the opportunity to
talk about women's heart health and ask people to wear
red in honor of someone that they love and just
talk about it in their place of work, amongst their
family and bring awareness to it. So hopefully and someday
(03:17):
it's not the leading cause of death and women are
living longer with heart disease and hopefully not suffering it
at all.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Let's wear red on Friday. Coincidentally, the day that we're
doing this interview. We're having a kind of a fun
Chief's Day around the radio station here, so a lot
of us are in bright red Chiefs colors. So that's
kind of a coincidental thing going with American Heart Association.
Plus with Valentine's Day coming up, you know, it's a
(03:44):
great time of year to wear red. Plus it's warmer.
It just feels warmer to have the warm color on, right.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, it does help that it will be Chiefs Friday too,
so people will already be wearing red for the Chiefs.
But we'll take it as a nod to the hardest.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
There you go, There you go. Let's visit with Deb
for a little bit since Deb has been patiently waiting.
Deb Devor Mullins. We know Deb well from White Eagle
Credit Union, but she is here today on a slightly
different mission because Deb, you're a multiple stroke survivor. Tell
(04:17):
us your story, my friend.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Well, back in twenty seventeen, I pretty much ignored all
the symptoms I was having and I wound up having.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
A stroke at work. Oh my yes, I actually had
an artery dissection.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
I was having trouble with a horrible headache, clenching of teeth,
and then I started smelling something burning, and I asked
everyone in the office if they could smell it burning,
and everyone looked at me like.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
I was a little bit crazy. So shortly after that,
there was a loud pop in my neck.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
To me, it was very loud. I don't know if
anyone else could feel it, but it felt like a
rubber band had broke. It was literally to find out
later was I had a blood clot and it shot
through my artery and it dissected it and it caused
my stroke.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
So the clot just dissected your.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Artery, yes, and it was in there and I had
no clue. And then so when it dissected, the blood
clot went and it hit my brain of course, and
then I caused my stroke. But being the person I was,
and I ignored the symptoms.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
And went home.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
So you had had a stroke and you didn't do
anything about it.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
No, Because I thought, this is stupid and this is
just ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
So I literally went home, okay, okay, and I went
to sleep, which everything I did was wrong, absolutely wrong.
I went to sleep, and when I woke up, my
face was drooping and everything, and.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
I knew then. Now, when I.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
First had the stroke, shall we say, at work, I
kind of was like in the back of my mind, going,
I know something's really wrong, but ignored it.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
The one thing I did was I put my hands out.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Which they say put your hands up, you know, and
I was thinking it was as a robbery and I
put my hands straight up in the air, and that's
not what they mean.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
They mean put them out in front of you.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
And then that will show your arms if one drops
and stuff like that, that will show the weakness immediately.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Oh man, wow, so you had known this prior to
prior to the event. You were you were aware of how.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
To behave, how to behave except I had it wrong.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
You had it wrong, but you but you had the
basics of it right.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yes, and I still ignored it.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Oh my, Well, yeah, yeah, I don't think you're all
that unusual. I sure didn't know. I don't know. So yeah. Wow.
Now is there another stroke after that?
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Yes? Actually I had several.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Because I had a dissection, I had blood clots, little
blood cloths.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
That continued to ping.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
My doctor immediately referred me over to doctor Mayan's neurologists,
and he immediately knew that it was a dissection.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
And so then I spent They got me on blood dinner,
and so they were trying to thin my blood because
I missed the time for the shot. You're supposed to
get a shot right after you have a stroke, so
they were thinning my blood. But on Christmas Eve, I
had another major stroke and then I wound up in
Saint Francis. And then when I was in Saint Francis,
(07:42):
I had one in my brainstem on Christmas Day, so
I wound up staying there for quite a while.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
So Deb, I've known you for a while and I
didn't know this, this full story. Wow, that's mind boggling.
You're kind of a miracle to be here.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
I yeah, yes, I am.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I by the grace of God. You know, I had
a lot of people praying through all of that. My dissection,
I learned when I was in the hospital, is inoperable.
So I just say on my blood thinners and wow,
keep going. My last stroke was actually of March twenty one,
so yeah, March twenty twenty one.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
But we're doing good. We're doing good.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So after that one in March of twenty one, then
you say that was the most recent one. How did
that one go?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
I mean, well, that one was really crazy. I didn't
know I was sound asleep. My dog Maggie woke me
up in my sleep. She kept pawing at me, and
when I woke up, I realized that my whole right
side was gone and that was my last stroke.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
And your dog, Maggie somehow knew that something was going on.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Absolutely new that dog, And she even has she's white
and black and she even has a heart on a
black heart on her side.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
So she is my precious dog.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
She stays near me a lot when I met home
and stuff. But yeah, a story, Wow, it's been pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
So yeah, well, okay, so through all this, I'm going
to guess that you were getting curious and you wanted
to educate yourself on how best to move forward dealing
with all this. So you got in touch with the
American Heart Association.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Yes, and reached out to Crystal a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Reached out to her friend, Crystal Steed, Crystal Cheryl Steed,
who is here with us today in the studio.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Yeah, Yeah, reached out with her and just kind of
wanted to get involved and you know, help other people
realize you know some of the symptoms and stuff like that.
And then also as a survivor, you know that to
keep going, you know, and give yourself grace and everything.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
And that was kind of when my.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Part was as a survivor, because some people just don't
get it to keep moving.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Wow, So warning signs that you ignored, Do you remember
some of the biggest ones, Like you say.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
The biggest one was my headache, It was a very
different headache, and chalk it up, I did know it
was a different headache and I started clinching my teeth
and that should have been probably one of my big ones.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Right, Yeah. I mean women in general, for a stroke,
we say fast so facial drooping, our weakness. So when
she's telling her story about raising her arms up, that
didn't pick up on the weakness. So had they gone out,
would have seen one was weak, so our weakness. Slurred
speech is another one that usually not everybody has it
(10:43):
with a stroke, but a lot of times as we
hear stories at the organization, that's one of the ones
people recognize immediately is the person was trying to say
something and it wasn't clear to the person on the
other end. And then if you've noticed any of those,
then it's to get to the hospital. And as Deb
was saying, time is crucial because moments from when you
(11:06):
have your stroke to when you get there, different medications
can become involved. And so if it gets too long
from when your stroke happened to when you make it
to the hospital, it just changes your course of action.
And so then time continues to be most precious. And so, yeah,
those are the warning signs that we as an organization
talked so heavily about, and you know in Deb's story
(11:27):
she knew them. But it's just continuing that education about
what does it mean for arm weakness? What do I
need to look for, and how do I then get
where I need to go quickly. There was a volunteer
many years ago to that similar story. She was helping
her husband put a microwave in in their kitchen and
(11:49):
she had a headache. She went to lay down and
she started hollering for help, and he could not understand
what she was saying at all. And she was completely
frustrated because in her for her story, I'm telling you
what I need, I need help, But to the person
on the other end, they could not understand what they
(12:10):
were saying, So, yeah, those are the warning signs we
talk about. So people if they're noticing a loved one
experiencing any of those, they need to get They need
to get to the hospital quickly. And depending on where
you live too, being able to tell that to the person,
whether if you're on nine one one or on the
emergency response, being able to state these are the things
(12:32):
I'm seeing will help the emergency teams know what they're
dealing with. If you know, you say someone has their
their their arms are weak, or their faces weak, and
they have sort speech, those are the things our medical
community know how to respond to. They recognize the person's
having a stroke. We need to get them help immediately.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
The teeth clenching mm hmmm. Does that go with the
headache or did it go with the headache? Do you
you felt like the two were related or is that
riped my hand?
Speaker 4 (13:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Wow, it totally went with my headache, and I knew.
And I think that's another thing that I really want
to point out there. I ignored it because it can't
happen to me, right, you know? And that was my
biggest thing is I'm like, this doesn't happening to me.
You know and I thought I was too young for
any of that and.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
It was not.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
So yeah, it knows no age, it knows no gender,
it knows no anything. I mean, that's the thing with
heart disease is you just never know. And so the
more education we can do as a community to help
people be ready to respond in the event of a stroke,
in the event of a cardiac arrest, that's what we're
on a mission for is for people to be able
to know all of those just key things that will
(13:42):
help save life and to recognize this is an emergency
and this needs help regardless of what you're facing. Is
what we're really passionate about ensuring that our community members
are trained and ready and prepared to respond when things
like this happen.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Do you get a lot of general calls with questions.
Do you get people that call up and go, hey,
I've got chest pains or anything like that? I mean,
does that happen?
Speaker 2 (14:08):
We get a lot of calls in the community about
where can I become a CPR certified. That's what a
lot of our community is wanting to know.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
No.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, and as an organization, you know, we're talking a
lot and we have been for the last three years,
but especially this Heart Month around building a nation of
life savers. The bystander rate to cardiac arrest is very
very low, which means if someone goes into a cardiac arrest,
the response of someone standing there, jumping and knowing what
to do is very very low. Nine out of ten
(14:39):
people don't survive if they suffer cardiac arrest, and so
as an organization, we get a lot of calls for that.
We get a lot of calls on how do I
get my heart saver certified? But what we really want
community members to know is you don't have to be
trained or formally certified to save a life. We want
people to take time to know how do I do
(14:59):
hands only chess impressions and be able to act and
jump in quickly and immediately because the time is same
with the cardiac or s the time that someone is
not jumping in, performing chess impressions and getting nine one
one on the phone locating an AED if they're somewhere
that has one, that the person's chance of survival becomes
(15:22):
very very low. And so as an organization, one of
our goals by twenty thirty is to double or triple
that survivor rate for cardiac arrest and make sure more
community members just have that confidence and are prepared to
jump in and know this is not right. I need
to check for a pulse, I need to alert someone
next to me, call nine one one, is there an
(15:44):
AED around, and begin those chess compressions immediately. So that's
really this Hart month. What we're talking about as well
is how do how do we have more members in
our community become a part of that nation of life
savers so that way nine out of ten people aren't
losing their life to cardiac or as and we can
really cut that in half and have more people be
survivors and telling their stories. And because of the courageous
(16:08):
acts of bystanders, they were ready and they knew what
to do, regardless if it's recognizing stroke, recognizing someone's electrical
wiring of their heart is stopped and they're needing help.
And so that's what we take a lot of calls
about is just how does my company learn CPR. Is
there a way that we can get involved in what
you're doing? And we're in February now, but coming up
(16:31):
in June we have our Heart Walk, which why Eagle
and dev is our chair for that. But our Heartwalk's
whole message is around building a nation of life savers
and ensuring our community members have at least one person
in every household trained in CPR. I say, let's make
it too, because you don't want to be the person
that knows it and needs it. So that's what our
(16:53):
heart Walk coming up in June is really using our
community community face to talk about how do we talk
about hands only CPR, how we make sure all of
which john people around know how to respond and are
prepared to respond in the event of cardiac emergency.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Do you recommend a regular refresher on CPR training?
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I think you can never do it enough truly. Luckily,
with the Heart Association, you can go and watch a
ninety second video and it will talk to you about
the how fast to do it, which is one hundred
to one hundred and twenty beats per minute. You get
to practice that response time. What do you do if
someone goes down? So I don't think you can ever
practice it enough or be aware of it enough. When
(17:34):
you're in those settings, it's stressful, and so that is
what we want people to be familiar with, is have
it be you're ready, you know, because anxiety is going
to take over, adrenaline is going to take over. But
those steps are ingrained in you. You know, I need
to check for a pulse, I need to call nine
one one, I need to locate the AED and be
(17:57):
trained and ready to do that, and it becomes second
nature and you're just on autopilot at that moment in time.
We hope you never have to, but then again, if
you do, we want people to be prepared.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
In my case, I did get CPR training thirty years ago,
and while I was getting I'm going, God, I hope
I don't need to use this. Hope I don't need
to use this, And you know, I paid attention during
the class, but I thought to myself, Man, I hope
it never because, like you say, in a split second,
(18:31):
you've got to make a decision. You've got to understand
what's going on. I think regular, some kind of an
update or a regular refresher course would be brilliant.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
On that well, and so much has changed, and the
Heart Association is who writes the science for cardiac emergency
response and resuscitation, and so what a lot of people
ask us is do I have to do bress, rescue
BRESS and that's really where it's changed. For infants. In kids,
rescue breasts are for CPR encouraged in the event of
(19:04):
a drowning. For everyone else, just hands only CPR is
where the science has really changed. What that does is
it keeps blood moving to the vital organs and it
allows the emergency teams to then get there and then
take over. And so that's a lot of the questions is, oh,
my gosh, I haven't been trained in thirty years. What's changed.
Not requiring breasts anymore and just getting in and doing
(19:28):
palm to chest chess compressions and doing that at one
hundred to one hundred and twenty beats. And if you're
lucky and you're in a situation where you're with another person,
being able to lean on that other person to take
over because it's it's hard, it's tiring, it's a lot
of work. But when you're in that moment and you're
faced with this person has to survive, you do what
(19:50):
you have to to respond. And I'll share too, because
I know this is going out to people that live
in Kansas. This really impacts us. And one of the
things the organization the Heart Association is so focused on
this year is bringing CPR training to our dispatchers. Right now,
in the state of Kansas, it is not required that
(20:12):
every Kansas county has trained dispatchers that can give CPR
instruction over the phone. It's optional. We would like to
see it be mandatory that every CPR dispatcher or excuse me,
every nine to one to one dispatcher can help because
how helpless does that feel if you're on the phone
and you can't help the person on the other end.
(20:34):
So as an organization, we are invested in that this
year and seeing that get across the finish line in Wichita.
It's a part of our training teams. They are capable
and they are trained to do that. But when you
reach out into more rural areas, it becomes more of
a challenge. You might have less dispatchers that work, and
so it's not required out in those communities, and so
(20:55):
we care a lot about this. We want to make
sure people are surviving cardiac and we want to make
sure if you're calling for help, that first person you're
on the phone with has the proper training to be
able to help you and walk you through that. Our
state advocacy director explained it as it's like helping a
toddler ti the shoe in the middle of Kellogg. You
(21:16):
know that having your dispatcher be able to give you
proper instruction in a very high stress situation, it takes training.
It takes the proper techniques for that person to be
able to visit with someone on the other end of
the phone who's looking at their loved one who needs
help and coach them through that. And so that's a
(21:39):
cause we're deeply kept passionate about hope. By the end
of this session we'll see that pass and become a
law for all Kansas counties that our dispatchers are required
to have that training and tell them now it's community members.
We're asking them too to take their part, learn how
to do hands only CPR, understand how to respond so
then that way more people are surviving.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Do you have a website where we can go to
get a bunch of your information?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, yeah, Heart Yeah, heart dot org. Slash nation will
take you to everything you need to know about heart,
about cardiac or ass how to be a part of
our nation of life savers. And then just heart dot
organ General will take you to our overall page you
can learn more about, you know, the fast stroke signs
and fast warning signs that relate to Debbie's story. There's
(22:29):
a lot of great content on there. If you're interested
in heart healthy meals, getting involved with our local community,
you can definitely plug in there.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
That makes me think of a question I wanted to ask, Debbie.
How's life different for you now that you've survived these strokes?
Are you doing proactive things now in your life to
stay ahead ahead of the game.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
Yes, you know.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
There were a few things I had to relearn, such
as writing.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
And also handwriting. Handwriting not riding a horse.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Handwriting.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Riding a horse I won't do because my dissection. But
another thing is I learned was had to relearn to
throw a ball. And last year, as a heartwalk survivor,
I threw out the first pitch over at one of
the wind Surge games.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
So that was very interesting.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
My ball would go every I would be aiming straight ahead,
but it would go every other direction.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
There was I think I remember you telling me about that.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
It was actually was ready.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
It was great, but it didn't explain the significance of
throwing out that pitch, And so that had some meaning that.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Was pretty amazing and sewing. Sewing is one of the
things that I really had to relearn. I'm a quilter
and just to put a pattern back together right like
right now I'm working on my granddaughters Amimi.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I'm working on her christening.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Dress for baptism, and there's just different things that even
now today I have to look at something a little longer.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
To put it together.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
So and being proactive is actually what I'm doing with
American Heart Association. Just love this group here and helping
spread the word more, get more people involved in the
like with the Heart Walk.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
With everything.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
They need, more businesses, they need more people to just
become more involved.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Let's talk about Heart Walk. It's in June. We show
up and we walk. Where are we going to be walking?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
So it's on June twenty first, and so we walk
down at the ballpark, Okay, across the river and walk
through the river. But what our real call to auction
is is come out and walk with us. Absolutely, but
sign your company up to get involved deeply with the
Heart Association. Sign up to help raise funds that goes
back to that critical mission work that we're doing. Work
(25:05):
with your employees and make sure that they understand how
to do hands only CPR and then celebrate that with
us at the walk. So, of course we want thousands
of people out at the walk, but we want to
make sure if you sign up to participate, you're walking
away with something as well, and you're understanding what this
organization is doing in our community and the work that
requires that funds to be able to get it across
(25:26):
the finish line. And so we are excited on June
twenty first to have people out. The gates will open
at eight, the walk will be at nine, and we'll
walk in the morning and get people out to start
their day heart healthy and celebrate the work that the
organization is done this last year. And we know that
we're not done, but we hope that we'll bring new
people in and old friends in and be able to
(25:48):
just celebrate the mission, which is to help people live longer,
healthier lives.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Now, will you be walking and we'll be walking.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I'll be walking, DEVI will probably kick everything off. I
imagine you at the front.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
What you know that sounds so great to me? A
nice walk on a pleasant summer morning, and I know
it's going to be a great day.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
And it's a great day. There's lots of vendors out there.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
You know, you have your CPR going on, and it's
it's a party, it's a celebration, smiles all around.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
You've got survivors, you've got caregivers, you've got families. Yes,
you've got curious folks that want to learn more. Company.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
We want them all to come.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Out, want everybody to come out. So June twenty first, Ye,
do we need to preregister or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Yeah, if you go to Wichita heartwalk dot org you
can sign up your your friends and family team. If
you don't see your company on the list and you
want to be on the list, you can do that
as well. But which to heartwalk dot org will have
all the information on the event, and then you can
see who else in the community is participating and then
you can join join the great fun.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
All right, Wichita heartwalk dot com or dot org. See,
I was going to congratulate you making it easy to
remember u r L and here I blowed the podcast.
But it's a dot org, yes, dot r which to
heartwalk dot org and then also heart dot org slash
nation Yeah for all the information general CPR information, educate yourself,
(27:18):
educate your family, Educate your partner. If you're empty nesters.
You know, partners need to take care of each other
and look out for each other.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Well, you know, it's funny that you bring that up.
That was one of the stories we got to hear
in the last six months of a husband and wife
that were at home just watching TV and he went
into cardiac or rest and she thought he was joking
around and hollered over to him, and he wasn't wasn't
joking around. So she called nine one one, and fortunately
(27:50):
it was in which jaw that dispatcher had the training
and was able to give her instruction over the phone.
Thank god, he has survived. And so, yeah, you just
never know when you're going to need it, and you
hope you never do, but you also want to make
sure you're prepared in the event that you do. And yeah,
so partners, people with young kids, people that live alone.
(28:11):
I mean, we just want to make sure people have
all those tools to be prepared, yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
And then know how to use them when the God
forbid the occasion happens.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Now, you hope you never have to, but you also
if you do, you want to be able to help
and jump in and make sure the other person survives.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
We've been visiting with Heather Smart, she's the Senior Development
director for the American Heart Association. Also Debbie devoorre Mullins,
multiple stroke survivor and our good friend with White Eagle
Credit Union. We've been talking about February being Heart Month
and all the things that we could be aware of
and the various ways that we can interact with the
(28:50):
American Heart Association. Get ready to be out there for
the Heart Walk in June and educate yourselves. Make the
most of this month. It'll hey in the long run.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
I think, yes, yes, I know. We talked about national
We're red Dan Friday. If anyone hears this and they
snap a photo themselves wearing red, be sure to tack
us on social media. Aha, Kansas. We'd love to see
how people and offices are going red on Friday, February seventh.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Okay, there's your challenge. There's your challenge. Keep that in
mind because it's coming up this Friday. All right, Thank
you so much ladies for being with us today on
the Wichita Weekend Podcast. We'll get this up and on
the internet right away and help spread some awareness about
Heart Month. All right, thanks so much for being with us.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
This has been the Wichita Weekend podcast produced by iHeartRadio
Wichita
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