When I was first diagnosed with Postpartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM), I was assigned a cardiologist who was fairly new to the practice at Mercer Bucks Cardiology.  I was 22 and was concerned about my health, but not to the point where I knew the importance of my diagnosis.  I was worried about my baby who had spend his first two and a half months at a hospital 45 minutes away from me.

So when I took this trip to the emergency room at approximately 5AM on a September morning, I had no idea the relationship I developed with Dr. Hirsch would have been like one we have had.  He has seen me go through many ups and downs and even made a life altering decision for me the year following my diagnosis.  He allowed me to spend time with my baby after my tests and my son’s colostomy reversal by keeping me out of work from October until the end of the year in 2000.  He has been there through my victories with this heart condition and through my very lowest moments.  You know you have a great physician when your family members want to use him also!

My visit yesterday was a bittersweet one.  I was most definitely already emotional when I got there, but I wasn’t ready for what was in store.  When we talked about who I would be seeing after he left, I broke down.  I have been looking for an integrative cardiologist for the longest time and still haven’t found one.  I am not too fond of the congestive heart failure (CHF) doctor in his practice that had been seeing me through my last bout of CHF.  When he told me I was being selfish for not wanting a heart transplant, even through I had said I will go through the motions for the “just in case I do need one” moment, I was through with him.  Nothing he could say to me would garner my trust in him.  So I told Dr. Hirsch about how I felt and the tears started rolling.  What he said and did during that time will always stay with me.

Dr. Hirsch told me that as my doctor, he is not to lecture me, but to tell me where I am at and suggest what I need to do.  He acknowledged that as far as Integrative Nutrition goes, I know more than him and maybe some of he colleagues.  He understood where I was coming from.  Most importantly, more than telling me anything, he listened.  And not just, listening to write notes, but he listened intently.  Something he has always done over the past 15 years.  Those kind of doctors come few and far apart.

I am still a bit emotional because I have yet to find another cardiologist like him.  Unfortunately, for my future healthcare providers, he has set the bar extremely high because he is not just in health care for the money, but for the difference he can make in many lives.  I wish him the best in his future endeavors and hope that we can bump into each other unexpectedly one day!