Hero for healthy hearts
AFTER writing a play and holding a fundraiser last year, Kate Powell has been able to give back to the organisation that gave her the confidence to exercise again.
In 2017 Ms Powell had a heart attack which caused one of her coronary arteries to tear. After being sent to the Wesley Hospital in Brisbane for surgery, she returned to Toowoomba to follow up at the St Andrew’s Hospital cardiac rehab centre.
“(The rehab centre) was just an extraordinary positive experience for me because it gave me the confidence to exercise again,” Ms Powell said.
“Without that, once you’ve had a heart attack it’s really scary and you think your life will never be the same. Coming here three times a week for a couple of hours for supervised exercise with encouragement and monitoring really helped me get back into exercising.
“I used to ride a bike and swim and walk, and now I’m back bushwalking and swimming and riding my bike and doing all the things I used to do before. I’m so thankful for the experience.”
As Ms Powell’s passion for heart health developed, she came up with the unique idea to write a play, and hold a performance as a fundraiser for the cardiac rehab as well as the Heart Foundation.
The play was held at the Armitage Theatre and was attended by 400 people, raising more than $12,000.
Some of this money was used to buy new equipment for the cardiac rehab, helping the 77 people who attend the rehab three times a week.
Clinical nurse coordinator in cardiac rehabilitation, Pamela Boyd, said she was surprised at first by Ms Powell’s
idea to write a play and hold a fundraiser.
“(I’m) very thankful to Kate because this has allowed us to buy some new equipment to help our patients with their recovery,” Ms Boyd said.
“It’s fabulous to see patients who are coming along to the program and benefiting from the exercise program we have here.
“It helps them get back into their way of life before they had their cardiac event.”