As seen in the Aurora Beacon News
Jo Volkening has spent most of her adult life working in health care. But it wasn’t until she heard a few simple words that her life and career changed forever: “You’ll be going in for heart surgery within 6 months.”
After hearing that news, “my knees went weak,” said Volkening, an RN in Provena Mercy Medical Center’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Department. “It hits you like a ton of bricks. Open heart surgery is about the biggest surgery you’ll ever face.”
Volkening says this life-changing event was the key determinant in her decision to work as a cardiac rehab nurse. Her own experience as a patient in rehabilitation was so powerful, that she felt a calling to help others through this extraordinary process.
Volkening started as a paramedic, then worked as a medical assistant before becoming a nurse. She discovered at age 20 that she had a heart murmur, and later learned of a leaky valve, known in clinical terms as a mitral regurgitation. When a physician told her that her murmur was a “Grade 4,” she was scheduled for surgery to repair the valve.
“I was 49 years old and had no symptoms,” she said. As an avid bicyclist, exercise enthusiast and health care provider, she says, she’s been committed to health her whole life.
And although she trained to be in peak physical condition prior to surgery in order to cope with the physical trauma, “I came out of that surgery feeling like road kill. It takes 100 percent of your stamina,” she said. “I didn’t realize what a significant event open heart surgery was going to be.”
Her time spent as a hospital patient changed the way she practiced nursing.
“There were things that happened to me in the hospital — things the nurses said to me that I used to say to patients. And I thought, ‘I will never say that to a patient again,’” she said. “And there were other things that nurses did for me that were so soothing and meaningful. I said to myself, ‘I will do that for patients from now on.’“
Volkening believes that her experience helps her relate to patients, set them at ease and provides an added level of trust.
“So many times I see patients who are struggling with loss of control,” she said.
With open heart surgery, there is a 40 percent chance of depression. Patients suffer losses, they’re isolated, and can’t drive.
“I tell people I have a scar, too. I’ve been through this,” she said. “I feel so privileged to be with people in this significant event. I work in a place where you can be so intimate with people on a one-to-one basis. There’s no job like it.”
But why choose to work in rehab rather than as an ICU or surgical nurse?
Volkening says that she’s drawn to the positive aspects of rehab, both as a former patient and as a nurse.
“I used to look forward to rehab,” she said. “Every time I went, I saw progress. Every time I went, I knew I was getting better. I was getting out of the house and felt less isolated. I made friends there. We joked, we told our stories, we compared our scars.”
Exercise is a powerful antidepressant, Volkening says.
“When you exercise, your body releases endorphins,” she said. “You feel better. We all left rehab feeling stronger.”
Moreover, cardiac rehab puts patients in a positive environment with people who love and care for the patients, she said.
“The most important determinant of cardiac health is the feeling of being loved and cared for. And that’s the mission here at Provena Mercy,” Volkening said.
What sets Provena Mercy apart, says Volkening, “is that we are committed to making a connection with the people who walk through this door. You’re not a number. People come in kicking and screaming because they don’t want to exercise, and when they walk out, they don’t’ want to leave. They’re so grateful for us helping to make them stronger.”
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