Boots Knighton interviews her cardiac physical therapist, Cassie Fuller. In this impactful conversation, Boots and Cassie talk about the importance of listening to the body's clues it gives when healing post open-heart surgery. They also talk about the importance of vulnerability and asking for help. Boots feels this episode is particularly important for heart patients to listen to because Cassie coaches the listener on how to find the right practitioners in your area and what to do if it isn't the right fit.
Boots apologizes for the low quality on her end of the recording. She is still working out the kinks of being a podcaster. Thank you for your patience.
You can find Cassie Fuller at https://www.kilterpt.com/ or email her at cassie@peakptjackson.com

Website: The Heart Chamber (theheartchamberpodcast.com)
Transcript: Joyful Beat | The Heart Chamber (theheartchamberpodcast.com)
The Heart Chamber (@theheartchamberpodcast)
Thanks to Michael Moeri for being my right hand man. Michael Moeri - Audio Editor, Podcast Producer and Marketing Director
Thanks to Denise Hardy for your support and believing in me. linkedin.com/in/denise-hardy-30a51086



0:00 introduction
2:00 Boots gives the background to finding Cassie, over a year later after her open-heart surgery.
3:20 Boots shares that because of cardiac PT, she is finally feeling a sense of hope that she is going to be ok
3:50 Cassie breaks down how she has been working with Boots (for example, objectifying the whole picture of Boots's life and the load on the heart)
5:00 Finding Boots's baseline to inform care
5:45 Boots shares how Cassie helped her gain more awareness around load on the heart and what load is in general and how it contributes the healing in the body.
8:00 Boots was "out of whack" when she came to Cassie but was struggling to accept how her life had permanently changed due to heart surgery. Boots did not want to let go of the life she had been living prior to surgery but Cassie helped her come around through education and compassion.
10:00 Cassie talks about mountain town culture and what happens when the physical lifestyle gets taken away by illness or injury and how the emotional side is being addressed.
11:40 Tracking Boots's load and once written down, it became clear how overloaded Boots's heart was and how to readjust lifestyle.
13:00 Cassie highlights all the ways we say no to our bodies and how that is troublesome and how to listen to the signals our body gives us.
14:40 Boots shares what was most helpful for her as far as body clues.
16:00 Cassie explains why it was and continues to be so important to stop before my body gave me signals to stop.
17:00 Boots can do everything she wants to do, but she has to be mindful and moderate.
18:00 Cassie talks about what the "rest day" means to the mountain athlete and how problematic the lack of rest days are for the body.
19:00 Boots is not interested in a heart replacement which is why she found Cassie. She plans on living a life of moderation so can avoid another heart surgery.
20:00 Please leave Boots a voicemail about your cardiac rehab
20:30 How can a heart patient prepare for open-heart surgery which includes mental health therapy.
21:30 Preop therapy is so important
22:00 Internal family systems and how the body gives us a clue what it needs.
22:50 A guided relationship between body and mind matters a lot.
24:30 While pre-op therapy is very specific, writing down bio markers is extremely important before and after. Having the baseline is so helpful.
26:30 Boots emphasizes the importance of mental health therapy for open-heart surgery, particularly internal family systems and how her heart let her know it needed help.
28:00 Boots is finally finding her "central self" two years post surgery.
29:00 Because Boots worked through the "muck" of open-heart surgery and the importance of perspective. She now thinks of open-heart surgery as one of the greatest moments of her life.
29:45 What does it mean to heal well post-surgery? Cassie talks about the "why" we do what we do.
31:30 Our essence matters much more than what we physically accomplish.
32:30 Cassie talks about how there is a need for more guidance in emotional and mental healing after surgery.
33:00 Boots lacked the education to know better as her body gave her signals to stop.
33:40 Cassie talks about the importance of cardiac rehab.
36:00 Boots talks about her ability to be vulnerability and how it helped her in her rehab. Asking for help is such an important skill.
37:00 The willingness to be vulnerable and be seen.
38:00 Cassie talks about finding a PT you can connect with matters.
38:00 Boots believes we all are here to live amazing lives.
39:40 Boots has come to a more peace-filled, joy-filled place.
40:50 Cassie emphasizes how finding care can be frustrating but keep looking. Don't lose faith or hope.
42:00 Boots believes that if you have survived heart surgery, there is a plan for you.
42:30 Cassie coaches the listener on how to handle if a practitioner isn't the right fit.