York Co. volunteer reaches out to help other heart surgery survivors

As a volunteer for Mended Hearts, Gerald Kemp Jr. visits heart patients in the hospital after their surgeries or heart attacks.

It is Kemp’s job to listen and answer questions, as well as hear fears and offer comfort.

But with each visit Kemp relives his own surgery, a quadruple bypass operation on Valentine’s Day 2003.

He relives the pain of his own surgery – and that of his dad, Gerald Kemp Sr., who died at age 50 of a massive heart attack, and his brother, Neil, who died at 55 on the operating table for heart surgery.

As painful as the memories can be, Kemp insists he gets more than he gives. In all the years he has visited heart patients, “I’ve never gone into a room and had a bad experience.”

He admits his outlook “may be selfish, but I hope what I do helps.”

His own experience forever changed his life, Kemp said. After recovering he wanted to give back, help others. His vehicle became Mended Hearts, a national program that offers peer-to-peer support to patients, family members and caregivers. The program celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2012. The local chapter at Piedmont Medical Center has more than 40 active members.

Kemp is now the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director for Mended Hearts.

While Mended Hearts membership is open to all, the peer-to-peer support can only be given by someone who has experienced a heart attack or heart surgery.

Kemp often gets questions about the pain, which he tries to answer as honestly as possible, but admits, “sometimes I lie about the pain.”

He talks about his own experience, which started with his hand going to sleep. While Kemp says his surgery went well, two things stand out. One was a pre-surgery MRI in a closed-bore scanner, where he discovered he was claustrophobic.

“If it hadn’t been for the music of Frank Sinatra I would not of made it through the test. It got my mind off it,” Kemp said.

The second was Kemp’s post-operation depression, which affects about 46 percent of heart surgery patients.

When patients learn he is a heart surgery survivor, they will often say, “well you look good” to the 80-year-old Kemp. “I try not to say, ‘and you will too,’” Kemp said.

What he always talks about are the benefits of rehabilitation during recovery. The assistance Kemp received from rehab at Piedmont Medical Center convinced him to help others, he said.

Follow-up visits by Mended Hearts volunteers are crucial, Kemp said. The most important one comes about three weeks after a surgery. Volunteers again listen to people, but also make a pitch to join Mended Hearts, Kemp said.

The encouragement of a Mended Hearts volunteer can be the words of life for a heart patient survivor, Kemp said. “Our mission statement is to inspire hope,” he said.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 8:14 PM with the headline "York Co. volunteer reaches out to help other heart surgery survivors."