Nita Wolf

Nita was watching a dance recital at Carleton College when her jaw started hurting. It began on the right side, then radiated across her full jaw. “I waited for more symptoms, but they didn’t come,” says Nita, who was in good health and fully active. “It kept intensifying, and I didn’t want to wait any longer.” She drove to NH+C’s Urgent Care in Northfield.

At the front desk, “I told them, ‘There’s something very important going on.’ I advocated for myself even though I wasn’t sure what it was.”

An EKG showed that Nita was having a heart attack.

The Urgent Care team sent Nita by ambulance to Northfield Hospital. There, tests in the Emergency Department showed the severity of her condition. “They decided to send me by ambulance rather than helicopter” to Abbott Northwestern Hospital, NH+C’s partner for cardiac care.

“The moment I was in the ambulance I just felt at peace because I knew I was in good care. Everyone was so professional, and I gained a lot of confidence from that,” Nita says. The EMS crew, led by paramedic Jon Hunter, checked Nita’s state of mind by asking simple questions “including my least favorite, a math question. I answered them all. Jon offered professional and comforting treatment during the transport that was greatly appreciated."

At Abbott, Nita had triple bypass surgery; one artery was completely blocked. She stayed one week in the hospital, then continued her recovery at home, with cardiac rehabilitation sessions at Allina’s cardiac clinic in Faribault.

As an independent hospital, NH+C partners with specialty care leaders like Abbott, Mayo Clinic, Hennepin Health and others to get patients to their best care.

“All the levels of care worked great together, including the partnership with Abbott,” Nita says. “Every step of the way I got a break. I think if I lived anywhere else, I would not have survived. I got the best medical treatment all along the way through this health crisis. I am very grateful for my care.”

Nita is a retired social worker specializing in crisis intervention, and a licensed Family Educator with Farmington and Northfield schools. “I’ve had to advocate for myself and for others on many occasions, so I know how to be appropriately assertive, not aggressive,” she says. “I met many other cardiac patients and families who were scared by their experience, because it’s life and death. But my whole experience was extremely positive.”

Her advice to women: “Know the symptoms of heart attack – they’re different for women. It’s important to recognize it early enough. If I kept waiting for more symptoms, I might have just been gone. I’ve been told by professionals that it was important that I took action to get medical treatment with only having the jaw pain, and not waiting for more symptoms. I never had any symptoms before.

“And advocate for yourself, even if you’re not sure what’s happening.”

Because sometimes your jaw is your most important medical asset.