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THE MOMENT
you walk into
Faith Regional Cardiac and Pulmonary
Rehabilitation, you are instantly im-
mersed in a friendly, inviting and
fun world. You nd patients work-
ing hard to increase their endurance
and strength while recovering from a
cardiac or pulmonary
disease or surgery—
but they make sure to
have fun along the
way.
Regaining her
rhythm
Maudie Hess, a
patient in the
cardiac rehabili-
tation program,
wanted a fun
way to say
thank you
to the
staff who had helped her along the
way. This past October, she delighted
patients and staff by playing a mini-
concert with her dulcimer. Playing
her dulcimer was an ability that Hess
had lost after her open heart surgery
in February 2014. When she started
cardiac rehab, Hess made a list of
goals. At the top of her list: to play her
dulcimer again.
The dulcimer is a fretted stringed
instrument native to the Appalachian
region. Hess, originally from Kentucky,
didn’t actually start playing the
dulcimer until a few years ago. Her
sister, still in the area, had picked it
up, enjoyed playing it and thought
Hess would enjoy it too, so she got
her one. Hess, with the help of books
and videos, taught herself how to play
the instrument and fell in love with it
herself.
The traditional way to play the
dulcimer is to lay it across one’s
lap, plucking or strumming the
strings with the right hand
while fretting with the left
hand. It takes some
strength in the
arms, and Hess
felt that strength
weakened after having her surgery.
“The machine where you use your
hands to move the wheel in a circle—
I hated it at rst, but I know that was
the exercise that helped me get my
strength back,” says Hess. “One of the
best things about my treatment was
to be able to build my strength back
again.”
Hess not only feels blessed by the
care she received through cardiac
rehabilitation, but she also raves
about her care every step of the way
at Faith Regional and Saint Joseph’s
Rehabilitation and Care Center. “We
have an excellent hospital,” she says.
“I can’t say enough about the care, the
staff and the doctors. And the facility
is wonderful. I am just so thankful I
could have the surgery right here.”
Even though Hess
has graduated from the
cardiac rehab program
and achieved her goal,
she still plans on con-
tinuing cardiac rehab
as long as she can.
“They are fantastic,”
says Hess. “The staff is
motivating, comforting and interested
in you personally. I can’t imagine pro-
gressing the way I did without them.”
Tug your heart-strings: Watch a
video of Hess playing her dulcimer
and hear her story. Visit
frhs.org
and click on “Our Services,” then
“Heart & Vascular.”
FRHS.ORG 11
Music from the
PAT I ENT REGAINS TALENT AFTER
CARDIAC REHABI L I TAT ION