By JANET McGREGOR
Contributing Writer

When Glenn Winslett of the Holiday Inn Express in Fayetteville first experienced chest pains a year ago, he did what he was supposed to do.

He went to the emergency room. They ran tests, gave him an upper GI “cocktail” which eased the pain, and told him to go home. He was advised to take a stress test or to see his doctor the following morning, but they thought he probably had a bad case of indigestion since the tests didn't show anything.

The next morning he still had pain, so he went to see his doctor. The doctor ran tests and said he thought his esophagus might be infected and wrote out a prescription. That seemed to solve the problem so Winslett went to work, slept that night, woke up the next morning, went to work - and began having pain again.

The pain medication the doctor had given him offered no relief but, as he didn't think it could be his heart, he wasn't overly worried. However, when he got home, he bent over to pick up his dog and realized his arms weren't working, and “my teeth were killing me,” he noted.

He went to Peachtree Regional Hospital in Coweta County where once again he suffered through more testing and yet another EKG. He told the attendant who came in to give the EKG that there wasn't any point in “plugging in that machine, I'm not having a heart attack.” He jokingly opened his shirt and pointed to his chest, saying he'd had so many in the past few days the spots were clearly marked.

As it turned out, Winslett was wrong — he was having a heart attack. Dr. Charles Pettus, who is on the Fayette County American Heart Board, was his doctor. Pettus gave him a new “clot buster” which almost immediately relieved his pain and helped prevent further heart damage. Later, when he had an angiogram they discovered only 30 percent blockage which they attributed to the fast use of the clot buster.

Winslett says the biggest mistake he made was not following up with cardiac rehab and the cardiac counseling which was recommended. His insurance company would not cover the costs and, as he was following the diet and exercise program, he thought he was doing enough.

In October of this year, Winslett once again experienced problems. He quipped, “I try to schedule my heart problems to coincide with the annual budget process.”

Due to circumstances beyond his control, he had to delay following up immediately. When he did get in to see his cardiologist, and subsequently worked out the kinks with his insurance, he had to undergo surgery to correct some problems. They found he had experienced another heart attack and that there was some blockage from scar tissue. He had an angiogram, followed by angioplasty in which the arteries were “ballooned” out and a metal stent implanted. Currently he is home, recuperating, although he is anxious to get back to work.

This time, Winslett is following up with cardiac rehab and the cardiac counseling. He is very candid regarding the emotional and mental effects having a heart attack can have. “People who haven't had a heart attack or experienced something similar can't understand how traumatic it can be. We feel guilty, thinking that everyone is blaming us for having the heart attack. And I blamed myself thinking if I'd just lost weight or hadn't placed myself under so much stress it wouldn't have happened.”

Those who suffer from heart attacks can and often do feel like they may have contributed to them. They also feel guilty for the stress they believe they are placing on co-workers, family and others. They are concerned that their jobs may be in jepordy or that people may feel they brought it upon themselves. Many avoid those who've suffered from heart attacks for a variety of reasons, which can sometimes lead to feelings of abandonment by the heart attack victim.

Winslett said, “People don't realize how much a card or phone call can mean. Just a call to say `Hi, how are you doing?' can mean a lot.”

Winslett says he has been very lucky. “My co-workers and the company have been wonderful. I especially appreciate Irene Martin from the Holiday Inn Hotel in Peachtree City who is filling in for me. Kai Walter, Bart Shah, Mit Shah and the other general managers have all been supportive. I work for a wonderful company.”

Winslett has been the general manager for the Holiday Inn Express in Fayetteville since May 1997. He had been in the Holiday Inn hotel system for seven years prior to that. The hotel business runs in his family. His mother owned two hotels when he was growing up and “I grew up in the hotel business.” His philosophy is the same as his mother's: “I treat the hotel like it was my home, and when someone comes to visit, I treat them like they're coming to visit my home.”

He is particularly proud of the new Magnolia Gardens which the hotel will soon unveil. The garden will seat more than 150 and will be “perfect for weddings, receptions, business retreats and meetings, large press conferences and similar events.” Over the next three years Winslett plans to plant at least one of the more than 30 varieties of magnolias. His enthusiasm for gardening shows when he begins talking about the landscaping of the garden. He said, “Some magnolias don't even look like magnolias. There are pink and yellow magnolias, some are shrubs and there is even one that is hardy to 25 degrees below zero.”

He learned gardening at his grandmother's side. She was an avid gardener who taught Glenn the appreciation of flowers and how to coordinate the colors to enhance the looks of a garden.

Winslett expects to return to work in a few weeks. His goals for the future include continuing to lose weight (he has already lost over 50 pounds, decreased his cholesterol and reduced his glucose levels by 50 percent) and plans to run the Peachtree Road Race in 2000. He says, “Well, I may not be able to run all the way, but I guarantee you I'll at least walk across the finish line.”

Winslett is a member of the Fayette County American Heart Association Board, is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and, per his friends, “just a great guy.”

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