Montana Woman Gives Back to Intermountain Health Holy Rosary Hospital After Being Treated for Heart Condition
For Lori Dickson of Miles City, Montana, the symptoms began as shortness of breath and swelling in her legs.
As they persisted, she went to see her primary care provider, Joy Huber, a nurse practitioner at Intermountain Health Holy Rosary Hospital in Mile City.
Those symptoms, Huber said, pointed to a potential heart health concern, and she recommended an EKG, a non-invasive test that measures heart function.
After the results were reviewed, Dickson received an urgent call from Huber, asking her to come directly to the hospital's emergency department. After further testing, it was found that Dickson’s heart was in an irregular rhythm causing heart failure.
Without her heart functioning properly, Dickson had retained over 40 pounds of fluid that was putting pressure on her lungs and causing difficulty in breathing.
Dickson spent the next two weeks in the hospital, including five days in the intensive care unit, as her care team worked to get her heart in a normal rhythm and to remove fluid from her system.
During this time, Dickson relied on her faith and caregivers to maintain a positive outlook.
“Never once during all of my treatment did I think I was going to die,” she said. “I was in heart failure, but I knew that I was in good hands.”
Once she was stable, she met with Carine Basmadjian, MD, a cardiologist at Intermountain Holy Rosary Hospital, to discuss her options.
Because Dickson was still experiencing irregular rhythms and persistent symptoms, Dr. Basmadjian recommended that she undergo a cardioversion procedure, where a patient’s heart receives electrical shocks to restore normal heart rhythm.
The procedure, performed at Intermountain St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings, Montana, was a success and Dickson felt immediate relief.
The next step for Dickson was to begin cardiac rehabilitation at Intermountain Holy Rosary to improve her strength and stamina.
For the next four months, Dickson worked with Shelby Huber and Pamela Hurr and the rehab team to take small steps each week to improve her condition.
“I did sessions twice a week from April to July,” Dickson said. “At the beginning, they had me walk to do a baseline. At the end of my last day, I did it again. I was walking back and forth and she says, ‘your time's up,’ and I wasn't even breathing hard!”
“Lori worked hard every single session and pushed herself to get stronger,” said Hurr. “She kept a positive outlook, and we really enjoyed working with her.”
Dickson’s treatments, including medication and cardiac rehab, made a significant improvement in her heart health.
“My heart function went from 20% to over 50% in six months,” she said. “I think I am doing pretty darn good!”
Dickson has continued to use the Intermountain Holy Rosary rehabilitation facilities through its self-led Workout to Wellness program and has a new enthusiasm for exercise.
“I love it! It’s the first time in my life that I have ever wanted to work out,” she said.
Now, back to health and retired, Dickson wanted to find a way to stay active and give back.
She volunteers two days a week at Holy Rosary in guest services, greeting and assisting patients and visitors.
“I needed something to do, and I thought that I could give back to the people who helped me,” she said.
After an almost year-long journey back to health, Dickson, has advice for those experiencing unusual or nagging symptoms.
“Always talk to your doctor about it. Even if you think it's trivial, ask anyway and ask questions,” she said.