Cousins Reconnect and Mentor Others During Cardiac Rehab at Silver Cross Hospital

Although they both live in Orland Park, cousins Bob Callahan and Neil Coleman said they’d see each other only at family events, not like when they were younger and sometimes vacationed together. 

But since July, they have seen each other three times a week during cardiac rehabilitation therapy at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, as each recovers from lifesaving heart surgeries in May. 

Lifesaving Heart Scan

Coleman, now 67, saw an ad for $49 Heart Scans at Silver Cross. And even though he has been a vegetarian for 11 years, takes care of his body and hadn’t had any symptoms (more on that later), he decided on a lark to get one of the scans.

“It’s $49, I don’t have to go through insurance, and I expected I’d take the test, and they’d say everything looked fine,” he explains. “It didn’t. The scale goes from 0 to 300, with 0 being no problems, to 300 for having some issues. Mine was 2,391. After that, I made my wife, kids, relatives and friends get a scan. Theirs were all good, thankfully.”

But Coleman learned through an angiogram he would need 17 stents, which wasn’t medically feasible. 

“I said, ‘Do I have a widow-maker?’ They said, ‘You have four widow-makers. A heart attack is imminent, and it would kill you.’” 

Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Pat Pappas performed a quadruple bypass in May, and Coleman was in Silver Cross for five days. 

“I felt great,” he said. “The whole team, the doctors, nurses were great.” 

Models and Mentors

About five weeks later, Coleman was scheduled for cardiac rehab at Silver Cross. Thirty-six sessions, three days a week for 90 minutes. After touching base with Callahan, he learned his cousin would be starting cardiac rehab at Silver Cross July 15. 

“He asked if it was possible to be scheduled at the same times,” said Kim Mason, Clinical Director of Cardiac Rehab at Silver Cross. “So, we arranged that.” 

Callahan and Coleman not only have been model patients, but models for the other patients attending rehab there. 

“Sometimes, they’ll get there early for their appointments, and we’re still at lunch. They’ll see some new patients who look worried and talk to them about what to expect. They’ll even show them around a little to make them more comfortable,” she said. “And when one of the other patients graduates from rehab, they’ll give them a little gift. They seem to bond with people.” 

That’s an understatement. Coleman and Callahan said they already are forming a group to go out for breakfast or lunch once a month to keep in touch. 

“We already have a name for the club,” Callahan said. “ROMEO. Real Old Men Eating Out.”

For now, the cousins say they’ve been able to catch up on family, and discuss sports and other issues of the day, except when the treadmill requires their focus. Callahan said cardiac rehab staff has been great in making sure they’re pushing themselves, but not too hard or too fast. 

“If I cough, one of the therapists will come over and ask if I’m OK,” he said. “They really keep an eye on you. The whole team. They are just wonderful.” 

Mason said they get a lot of patients like Coleman, who said they didn’t have any symptoms, so they opted to have a heart scan at Silver Cross…just because, or while they were accompanying a spouse or friend. 

After talking with his primary physician before his heart surgery, Coleman said he did have symptoms. 

“I told her I would get chest pains now and then, but they would go away. I figured everyone got chest pains sometimes. It was just normal. My doctor said, ‘No, that’s not normal,’ and referred me to a cardiologist immediately.’”

What About Bob?

Neither the chest pains nor hearing about his cousin’s impending heart surgery through family channels figured in his getting the scan, Coleman said. He called Callahan before that surgery. 

Callahan, now 69, said his primary care physician picked up an odd sound in his heart during a routine checkup and scheduled him for a stress test. The test picked up an abnormality, and he was then scheduled for an angiogram. He would end up having aortic valve surgery. 

He had no symptoms before the routine checkup picked up the heart anomaly. 

“That’s what’s scary,” he said. “I’ve always been into exercising and eating right. 

“But now through rehab and the education classes at Silver Cross, I know better how to keep healthy. I would recommend Silver Cross to anyone. They help you do really great things there.” 

To learn more about the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at Silver Cross Hospital, visit silvercross.org.