From our President.....
"Spring has sprung; the grass has riz. I wonder where the warm air is?"
I have no idea where I got that poem but I have known it for a long time. It’s just spring time in the Rocky Mountains. When I was younger and lived on the farm I loved to till the land in preparation for planting crops. I particularly loved plowing and watching the dirt being turned upside down. There is just “something” about working the land.
In the mid 60’s my dad bought a new tractor which was a Fordson Super Dextra. It was actually a Ford tractor manufactured in England. It was dark blue with bright orange wheels. It had a 3-cylinder Perkins diesel engine. The only drawback to this tractor was it did not have a fuel gauge. If you wanted to make dad real unhappy, just try running the fuel tank dry. He had to bleed the air out of the diesel fuel injectors which was not easy, and created quite a mess.
The tractor and I had a long wonderful relationship, we did a lot of hard work together. Tractor cabs were not yet invented, so every day I would come home covered from head to toe in dust and pretty well had a good sun burn. To me springtime represents a renewing of life. I love brown fields that have been plowed, and worked down with a tandem disc and a harrow, and the field would be right next to a dark green alfalfa field. The contrast is just beautiful, a special time of the year.
Plowing is like overcoming heart disease and getting a new lease on our lives. We live in a blessed area that has exceptional doctors, and people that work in the medical profession.
Mended Hearts of Boise - Get to know us....
Our mission is to inspire hope and improve the quality of life of heart patients and their families through ongoing peer-to-peer support, education, and advocacy.
Maybe you were recently diagnosed with heart disease or had a heart event. You may have been prescribed a new medication, or just had heart surgery or other medical procedures. Now you might be feeling overwhelmed, scared, confused and alone. We want you to know that no matter what your diagnosis is or how you found us, Mended Hearts® is here to provide support, education and to advocate for you and with you. No one should have to walk this path alone! We are here in person in the Boise area to provide peer support and education as you learn to live with heart disease. We want to walk with you as you journey with a mended heart.
We view managing heart disease as a marathon, not a sprint. Living a healthy life isn’t something we can do in weeks, months or even years; it is something we must work toward throughout our lifetime. We can learn so much from one another and it's not such a lonely journey when you are not alone.
About our Monthly Meetings
May Speaker Highlight
Jenny Hollan, MSN, APRN, CNP
St. Luke's Idaho Cardiology Associates Heart Rhythm Center
(In other words, she works for the heart electrician) She is going to speak to us about the normal heart rhythm, also abnormal heart rhythms and what is being done to treat these problems.
Join us May 21 at 2 pm in the Meadowlake Medical Plaza 5th floor conference room.
Upcoming Speakers.....
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June, 2025 Annual Summer Picnic - no meeting but everyone is welcome to attend our annual picnic. Details will be coming soon.
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July 16, 2025 Jessica Aloyian Zoll Medical Devices speaking about their Cardiac Life Vest
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August 20, 2025 Jenny Socci from Boston Scientific will talk to us about their Watchman device
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September 27, 2025 Dr M Nelson from St. Al's Heart Institute
Our monthly meetings are on the third Wednesday of each month in the Meadowlake Medical Plaza 3525 E Louise Dr, Meridian, ID 83642 5th floor conference room starting at 2:00pm. See Google Map of the location
Our meetings are open to the public and are always free to all attendees.
If you have any questions, contact us
Member's Corner
Get to know some of Chapter Members and Their Heart Stories
Our Unsung Heros
It takes a cast of many to keep our chapter running smoothly. We wanted to highlight a few of our unsung heros who are daily making a difference in our community:
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Adrienne and Dennis Shiedlak - Dennis and Adrienne joined Mended Hearts after Dennis experienced a heart event. They now ensure all if our hospital locations stocked with the supplies used by our Accredited Visitors. We have visitors at St. Lukes and St. Alphonsus locations in Boise, Meridian, and Nampa which means Adrienne and Dennis supply newsletters and brochures to all these locations on a weekly basis. They also visit monthly at St. Lukes Cardiac Rehab in Meridian speaking to 65-75 patients going through the Rehab program telling them about Mended Hearts...all in one very long day from 7 am to 3 pm.
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Pat Toschoff - Pat, our Program Chair, responsible for scheduling speakers at our meetings- a challenging task that involves working with the schedules of very busy doctors, specialists, and experts to make sure each meeting features an informative presentation. She also distributes brochures and newsletters to area cardiologist's offices for distribution to patients. Having cared for her husband during his illness, she is a dedicated advocate for those supporting a spouse or loved one through their health journey.
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Wini Trapp - Wini, our Corresponding Secretary, sends birthday, get well, and sympathy cards to our members, helping to lift spirits and maintain connections within our community.
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Becky Newberry - Our Membership chair and Treasurer who keeps track of all the email addresses for use in sending newsletters to over 500 people each quarter. She sends welcome letters to each new person requesting information about our Chapter and Mended Hearts. Sends meeting reminders to everyone and helps keep everything running smoothly.
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Our Accredited visitors - This group of 8 individuals led by Jack Marr visits in our area hospitals bringing personal note of hope and encouragement to heart patients.
Diabetes and Your Heart
Provided by Bryan Walters, RN, BRN, CCRP
St Lukes Cardiac Rehab Nampa
We often blame our medical disorders on genetics or having a family history. Yes, it is true, that having a family history of diabetes and countless other disorders puts us at a higher prevalence of contracting these conditions, but that is not an absolute guarantee you will acquire them. What we should also consider and what plays a significant factor in contracting these disorders is our lifestyle.
Lifestyle Medicine teaches that we have modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. In simple terms, what do we have direct control of in our lives and what do we not have control over? Non-modifiable risk factors include our age, ethnic group, sex, family history, to name a few. Modifiable risk factors include, but not limited to our sleep hygiene, what we eat, how much we exercise, emotional status, our weight, and what kind of substances we put into our bodies.
A thorough understanding of our family history and what genetic predispositions we have greatly influence our health trajectory and allows us to alter or modify our lifestyle to counteract the onset of many medical conditions. Does this mean we can completely avoid high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, no, but it does mean that we can adjust those things we are in control of and reduce the potential onset of contracting these disorders.
Taking ownership of this understanding and being proactive with your healthcare will give you a greater chance at avoiding disorders such as diabetes. We call this preventative medicine, and this is best implemented by a proactive approach and desire to take charge of your health. Start simple with lifestyle changes where you can have a higher success rate and feel a sense of accomplishment. Keep goals specific and attainable, reducing the risk of failure. It is possible and there is support to help you there, so don’t give up!