Sitting with her husband Richard in their house in Cranberry, Charlene Reinisch appears full of energy and completely at ease as she talks about the harrowing experience she went through last October.
Charlene is still recovering from two heart attacks and the emergency quadruple bypass surgery that saved her life. The couple are the parents of five children ranging from ages one to 13. Charlene is not back to work yet and Richard has been taking on the role of stay-at-home dad, so for the moment both are there to take care of the children and take care of Charlene.
It was on October 21 that Charlene began feeling chest pains at work. She had no history of heart problems but went to the emergency room at Powell River General Hospital as the pain got worse. They transferred her to Vancouver for an angiogram where doctors determined Charlene had suffered a heart attack. They diagnosed her with a rare heart trauma called spontaneous coronary artery dissection, a condition where a tear in the lining of an artery causes reduced blood flow to the rest of the heart.
Another heart attack resulted in Charlene receiving the emergency surgery. Under sedation for five days, Charlene’s body struggled to recover with the help of a heart pump and assisted breathing. At one point things were dire enough that a heart transplant team was put on standby in case her condition deteriorated. On Friday, October 29 Charlene stabilized and woke from sedation. She had a long recovery ahead of her, but the worst was over.
Throughout their ordeal, the Reinischs were being thought of and helped by many people back in Powell River. At Charlene’s workplace, First Credit Union, coworkers decorated the office with heart symbols and visualized strong hearts to create positive energy for her recovery. Charlene’s daughter’s soccer team, Fury U14, donated the money from a fundraiser to her recovery and drew hearts on their hands to show their support. Others sent messages over Facebook, helped take care of their children and filled their cupboards and freezer with food for their return. The list of support is extensive.
“That whole movement of hearts came at a really critical time for us,” said Charlene. “We really feel like that was tremendously instrumental in my recovery because there were so many people that were focused on my heart getting stronger and they were sending their positive energy that way...It really made it turn for us.”
Charlene kept a copy of the Peak’s original article on the community’s support (“On route to recovery,” November 3, 2010) up on the wall in her room at the hospital and the nurses and staff commented about how only in a small community like Powell River would such support be found. Now Charlene and Richard want to acknowledge the community for that support and tell everyone they are doing well and couldn’t be more grateful for their friends, family and community.
Ever positive, Richard and Charlene have come to see their ordeal as a mixed blessing now that the worst appears to be over. While they would never want to go through their ordeal again they are grateful for making it through and for having had the chance to see just how much support and love they have in their lives. They said that the experience brought them closer as a couple, brought them closer to their children, gave them a new outlook on life and gave them a new appreciation for the people in their lives.
“That experience of having so many people pulling for you and wanting to provide for you and caring for you and loving you, that’s amazing,” said Charlene. “That will forever change us and we will never forget how quickly and thoroughly and wholeheartedly our community came together to support us.”
