The following testimony is directly from one of our long term members.
"My name is Brian Masters and I would like to share with you the benefits of Happy Hearts. I have attended classes for the past ten years to keep me fit after my quadruple Heart Bypass. Unfortunately last summer in August (22) I was taken seriously ill and sent to Southampton hospital where I had an eight hour operation for a perforated Oesophagus, for the operation the surgeon said I would have a 1 in 3 chance of survival.
I then spent two months in intensive care having a Tracheotomy to help my breathing and physiotherapy to keep my legs moving. I was then transferred to the high dependency ward, when I arrived the only walking I could do was around the bed with a Zimmer. The other problem I had was with my eating because my stomach was pulled up into my chest cavity and reconnected. A puree diet was my food, with also an overnight feed with a pump into my stomach via a tube. After one month of this treatment I gradually got better and by the end of the month I could walk up the corridor with just a walking stick.
The next stage was the assessment to see if I could go home, my physical condition was ok but I had to be trained to use the night feed pump before they would let me out. I finally made it home on Friday 11th of November.
After my first week at home I was contacted by the universities of Ulster and Warwick asking if I would take part in a survey for people who had spent time in ICU, I was asked what problems I had which at the time was the strength in my legs and walking. I took part in their keep fit programme twice a week online to strengthen my legs and feet this lasted for six weeks and by the end of the programme I could walk quite well and drive my car again.
My surgeon told me that unless I had been fit before the operation I would not have survived so I think Happy Hearts were the reason I survived.
Thanks to you all" - Brian Masters aged 81.
A Note From the Happy Hearts Team.
Brian rejoined us after Easter (2023) and he now looks fantastic and his fitness is improving all the time, Brian is a pleasure to have in our class and we feel very proud that we have played a significant role in his survival and subsequent recovery.