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Ken Turoczy changed his life and health with Ornish

July 9, 2017

More than 25 years ago, Ken Turoczy, a part-time real estate agent living near Rehoboth Beach, had a heart attack. At the time, he was living in Wilmington with his wife, daughter and son.

"I remember waking up in the middle of the night and feeling an intense pressure on my chest. I thought it was because of the oysters I had eaten earlier," Turoczy recalls. "I went to the bathroom and sat on the toilet trying to catch my breath. I couldn't speak."

When he didn't improve, his wife took him to the nearest emergency room.

"I really don't know how she managed to get me in the car. I couldn't breathe. I was dying. I couldn't talk to her," Turoczy says of that harrowing time. "We know now that she shouldn't have done that. She should have called 9-1-1 and let the experts handle it."

At the hospital, Turoczy had six more heart attacks while being treated in the emergency room. "I was basically dead. I remember having an out-of-body experience where I was looking down at myself. I just kept telling myself to keep breathing," he said. "I remember my wife telling me that I better not die on her. I couldn't respond, but I remember hearing her voice."

Turoczy had a stent placed, but the experience left him unable to fully walk for three months. He was kept in bed for 10 days with sand bags on his legs. At six months into his recovery, he was just starting to feel like himself. "I had one of the first stents ever placed in the state at that time. My doctor told me that there was a learning curve at that time. Stent procedures are a lot better now," he said.

Fast forward to 2016 and Turoczy, now 70, has moved to coastal Sussex County with his wife and son. He sold his often stress-inducing businesses and continues to work part-time in real estate. "Much of my stress of those old days is gone, but I could tell I wasn't as healthy as I should be. I had gained back the weight and wasn't as active as I knew I should be," he said.

It was around that time that Turoczy read about the Ornish Lifestyle Medicine program at Beebe Healthcare. Dr. Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease is the first program scientifically proven to "undo" (reverse) heart disease by optimizing four important areas of patients’ life - what they eat, how much activity they have, how much love and support they receive, and how they respond to stress. Beebe Healthcare is the only organization in the state to offer the Ornish program.

"I figured I would call and see if I qualified," Turoczy said. "The program administrators really worked with me to get most of the costs covered by my insurance. The next thing I knew, I was embarking on the nine-week program."

Turoczy joined a group of others (a cohort) who had also experienced a heart attack or had a heart event. The cohort met twice a week for four hours at the Ornish and Cardiac Rehab department at the Beebe Health Campus on Route 24 near Rehoboth Beach. The sessions consisted of meeting with specialists in exercise, nutrition, group support and stress management - the four pillars of Dr. Ornish's program. They also watched Chef Miguel Cuevas, Beebe's Ornish chef, create a healthy meal.

"I can't say it was easy, because especially at first, it was a struggle to get my brain around this new way of thinking, eating, and living," Turoczy said. "It was so eye-opening to learn about how our bodies work - from how stress affects our health to how we can change our food choices and make exercise a priority. I had never experienced yoga before, and honestly, I am still not sure about yoga, but it is such a warm and welcoming group that I definitely tried things outside of my comfort zone."

As the primary cook for his family, which includes his wife Carol and son Matthew, Turoczy was surprised how supportive they were. "They eat whatever I cook, and as I tried new recipes, they were eager to learn about the items in the recipe and they gave everything a shot," he said. "We focused on a plant-based diet, so we did not eat anything that flew, swam or walked."

Turoczy completed the program in 2016, but has kept many of the lifestyle changes going. "The biggest change for me was making exercise a priority. It really is the first thing I think about every day," he said. "Any chance I get to add steps or lift something, I take it. I always take the stairs, I park far away from stores, I walk the dog all the time - exercise is my daily priority now."

Turoczy lost 40 pounds and has kept most of it off as he is now in the maintenance phase of the program. He watches his fat and sugar intake, which were very important parts of the program, and he has been able to reduce two of his medications. To top it all off, he is no longer considered pre-diabetic.

"Leaving the program at graduation is a little nerve-racking because you know that now it is all up to you to keep going," Turoczy said. "I tell people that now that I know what I should be doing, I stick with it. There are always going to be times when you stray from the path, and that's OK as long as you are doing what you need to do to stay healthy."

For more information on Ornish Lifestyle Medicine at Beebe Healthcare, go to www.beebehealthcare.org/ornish or call 302-645-3514.

 

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