May 5, 2025 • 29 mins
This week on Spotlight Houston, we’re rolling back to the most popular episode of Season 3!
Originally released as Episode 122 on January 27, 2025, this fan-favorite features an inspiring and informative conversation with Melody Torno, Development Director for the American Heart Association Houston, and Ally Babineaux, also known as the courageous “Bionic Bride.”
You’ll learn about the different types of heart disease—from congenital conditions in babies to cardiac arrest and stroke in adults—and how the American Heart Association supports communities through education, research, and advocacy. Melody also shares why CPR training and knowing the symptoms of heart attacks and strokes can be life-saving.
Ally opens up about her powerful journey, including a rare heart condition that led to three heart transplants. She shares the emotional highs and lows of life with donor hearts and her deep connection to her first donor’s family.
This episode remains one of our most loved—and for good reason.
- Key topics in today’s episode include:
- Types of heart disease and symptoms to watch for
- How CPR and early intervention save lives
- Ally’s emotional story of resilience and advocacy
- The role of community events like the Houston Heart Ball in driving change
Want to attend the Houston Heart Ball or learn more? Visit: https://www.heart.org.
New Spotlight Houston episodes drop every Monday!
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Spotlight Houston Show is produced by Story Zone Media.
The audio version of this episode was edited for time. For the extended version of this conversation, please check out this episode 122 on our YouTube channel (shared below): https://youtu.be/oKulIlw-33o?feature=shared
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
And people, I think, you know, they're they've heard maybe the name before, but they're
a little unsure what all the American Heart Association
does. Right. Being a national organization, we have a
couple different hats that we wear, different pillars of what we
try to help to do on a national level, but also within
our local communities. Right. And so we
(00:22):
work in everything from dealing with research and
science to help create a world of
longer and healthier lives for those individuals who are
suffering from cardiovascular disease. We also work in
our local communities trying to be preventative, to advocate and
help them to figure out what kind of food should I be eating, what kinds
(00:44):
of things should I be paying attention to when I go to the doctor?
What are proper numbers and things, you know, for my for
my heart health? And we also work with
teaching CPR, trying to make sure that there's one person
in every household that knows how to do hands free CPR. It's
a goal of the American Heart Association, and we even work
(01:06):
with the law. You know, you might notice that there's no smoking in
restaurants and things when you walk in Right. Or secondhand
smoke. Those are all things that the American Heart Association
advocates for and works, at a legislative led
level dealing with. And, we even love to
make sure we're educating in schools as well.
(01:34):
Thank you for joining us for another episode of Spotlight Houston, where we bring
you the best people, places, and events in Greater Houston. This week, we're rolling
back to the most popular episode of season three, A conversation that
truly touched hearts and sparked action. Originally aired as episode
one twenty two on Monday,
01/27/2025. This episode features the American
(01:54):
Heart Association. We invited them onto the show in honor of American
Heart Month, which is celebrated in February. But the work they do to save
lives and promote heart health is important all year long. From educating
communities about heart health to the powerful personal story of our
guest, Ellie Babineau, the Bionic Bride. This replay is
full of vital info and heartfelt inspiration. You'll also
(02:17):
hear from Melody Tornow, development director for the American Heart Association
in Houston, as she shares how they help families and
individuals live longer, healthier lives through CPR training,
advocacy, and awareness. This is episode one thirty six. If you
want to hear the extended version of this episode, check out the YouTube
video. Spotlight Houston is brought to you by StoryZone Media. And now,
(02:38):
here's your host, Blanca Quesada. Hi. Did you
know February is American Heart Month?
Well, I knew it, so I wanted to share that information
with you. And so what does it all mean?
Well, it means that the American
Heart Association spotlights and encourages people, our
(03:01):
communities, to, focus on our cardiovascular
health. But it really doesn't take much, and it's not that
scary. And because and I'm telling you this because I've done it.
So, anyway, if you want any information,
it's on their website, and they show you, you know,
what their toolkit that contains facts and resources
(03:26):
that anyone can use to learn
about the risk of heart disease and the
importance of identifying and managing heart
related health conditions. You know me. I wanted to learn
more about the American Heart Association and what
all they can do for us, how they can help us,
(03:47):
and why the month of February is so important.
And and this month, of course, helps raise
the awareness of our heart health.
So with me today are two very, very, very amazing
women. They are so and they're here
to help us understand and to pay more attention
(04:10):
to our heart. So welcome to the show, Melody
Tornow, the development director and and
Ally Babinow, survivor and advocate
and also known as the bionic bride. I'm intrigued.
I wanna find out why. And so, Melody,
before we get started in all that y'all are doing,
(04:32):
would you give me a little brief history about the American Heart
Association, how long it's been around, and why
it was created? Absolutely. It's such a pleasure to be able to join
you and to talk about heart month. You know, for the American
Heart Association, it's a heart day
every day of the year. But especially in February, it's
(04:55):
exciting because, all Americans are actually
exposed to a reminder of how important their heart health
is. And the American Heart Association
was founded in 1924 by six cardiologists
who got together and saw the need, for this
organization. It later became a nonprofit.
(05:17):
They turned it over into a nonprofit. And so now it's actually
the the largest and the oldest nonprofit
in America that works heart health, cardiovascular
health, and and dealing with stroke as well. So we're really proud of that. We
just celebrated a hundred years, last year. Yeah. Yeah.
And people, I think, you know, they're they've heard maybe the name before, but they're
(05:40):
a little unsure what all the American Heart Association
does. Right. Being a national organization, we have a
couple different hats that we wear, different pillars of what we
try to help to do on a national level, but also within our
local communities. Right. And so we work
in everything from dealing with research and science
(06:02):
to help create a world of longer
and healthier lives for those individuals who are suffering
from cardiovascular disease. We also work in our
local communities trying to be preventative to advocate and help
them to figure out what kind of food should I be eating, what kinds of
things should I be paying attention to when I go to the doctor, what
(06:24):
are proper numbers and things, you know, for my for my
heart health. And we also work with
teaching CPR, trying to make sure that there's one person
in every household that knows how to do hands free CPR. It's a
goal of the American Heart Association, and we even work with
the law. You know, you might notice that there's no smoking in restaurants and
(06:47):
restaurants and things when you walk in. Right. Or secondhand smoke. Those are all
things that the American Heart Association advocates
for and works, at a legislative led level
dealing with. And, we even love to make sure
we're educating in schools as well and helping
to start that heart health journey at a young age. And truth
(07:09):
be told, you know, cardiovascular disease is the number
one killer of men and women, not just in
America, but on a global scale, and stroke is number
two on a global scale. So it's something that everyone is
going to be affected by in some way, whether it's a loved one,
whether it's a friend, whether it's yourself personally. And
(07:31):
so the more preventative we can be with that, we hope it
leads to a healthier life for everyone and a longer life. And and there are
lots of people that never think they're going to have, you know, and they're suddenly
very surprised how quickly life can change. And Ali, who is
here, as an advocate and as someone who's experienced this for
herself, can speak to that firsthand. But Yeah. I know that was a
(07:53):
long answer, but AHA has a long answer. A great answer. It's a
great answer. But but, you know you know, there's a lot of
people that once they get diagnosed, they're
looking into their different websites trying to find out as
much information as possible, resources and
services that they can find from anywhere,
(08:15):
but we need to make sure that we're looking at the right websites that are
gonna give us that information that we need. And, also, you
mentioned, you know, that anybody can get some type
of heart disease and that it is the number one killer. But
what I think the misconception is too that it's
usually the elder people that that they have the
(08:37):
heart problems. Actuality, a lot of newborns
are are they have heart issues. Yes. And then it goes up
to, you know, little kids and teens and
young adults, and you you don't expect it. You don't expect
that that would happen. I know that there's been stories about
teens in sports having a heart issue that they didn't know
(09:00):
they had. So that's information that I think is
really important that, American Heart
Association can help with. Absolutely. I think
people have to realize that, you know, cardiovascular disease
comes in all shapes and sizes. And there are
babies in utero having their first heart surgeries
(09:22):
just like there are those who are elderly who are experiencing it for the first
time. And one of our largest spokespersons, Demar Hamlin,
he was a still is a professional
football athlete, and there he was on the field. And he
got hit in just a very specific way that stopped his
heart. And, you know, that can happen especially
(09:44):
to athletes that are healthy, that are living their best life
and a sudden impact to the heart. You know, you the heart controls
all of your well-being for the body. And I think really
works hard to help people try to be aware that this
could be anyone. And and even for mothers, for pregnant mothers,
that's something I had not realized, but
(10:06):
it is the high highest cause of mortality
for for mothers who are pregnant is actually in dealing with
cardiovascular disease, preeclampsia, you know, conditions
that are very common for mothers who are expecting. So you
just never know who who it might be.
And and, Ali, I know you can speak to that too because I know you
(10:29):
never expected to be someone experiencing a heart condition. You know,
when I started my job at the American Heart Association, I didn't even
know the difference between or that there was a difference between cardiac
arrest and between a heart attack. And and,
typically, when people think about heart health, they're really thinking about those two
things. A a cardiac arrest is an electrical
(10:51):
problem in the system, something short circuits, and the heart stops
beating, and you have to be resuscitated. You may have seen the
dramatic moment in movement in movies where they pull out, you know, the AB
and, like Yeah. You know, recharge and restart a person's heart or
CPR when it's being administered. That's gonna be someone whose heart
has stopped. But heart attacks, people who are experiencing heart
(11:13):
attacks, that is a plumbing issue in the body. And
it's really wild because someone could be sitting there looking at you,
and they're in certain types of pain or they're not really registering that there's a
huge problem, and they could be having a heart attack right then looking
at you, talking to you. I mean, it's a very different different
experience. I I, in my mind, had thought every time someone has a heart attack,
(11:35):
they're gonna be on the ground if you're doing CVR, but that's really Yeah. Not
the way that looks. And and for men and women, it can be
very different. A woman can have jaw pain, and and women experience pain
so so differently from men too. And and, of course,
that's just thinking about heart attack and cardiac arrest, but people
experience so many different heart conditions that
(11:57):
fall under cardiovascular disease. I don't think people would look
at me and necessarily immediately think I have high blood pressure, but but I
do. You know? Everyone everyone might be surprised when
they go into the doctor and see their numbers and suddenly realize maybe
something's going on with their body. So really listening to your
body and advocating for yourself if you feel like something is not
(12:19):
quite right. And the symptoms and things are listed on our
website, our national site, you know, the American Heart Association, if
you go to it, has tons of free material to help you as
you're trying to advocate for yourself or even try to figure out if something is
happening with your body that is not quite right. And it has
information also to help you to live a healthier life to be
(12:41):
preventative. Because the truth is, if a person has good cardiovascular
health at age 50, you've actually expanded
your your lifespan. For women Yeah. You've added about another
six years onto your life. For men, about another five. So good
cardiovascular health is something we all should hope to achieve looking
down the road and hoping to really have that long and healthy life.
(13:04):
And, also, when you're talking about high blood pressure,
people don't understand what that is and what the
normal their normal numbers should be. And so
a lot of times, I think they go to the doctor, and they don't
really understand. And it's like if the doctor says it's too high,
well, you know, they don't ask the doctor why and
(13:26):
and, you know, what's the reason behind that? It could be something
genetic too. Right? Right. Absolutely. And,
you know, when you talk about your blood pressure, the heart is supplying
blood all over the body. And, you know, of course, I am not a doctor.
Just gonna preface this right now as I say these answers. Please go
to your doctor to seek medical advice and care. Although
(13:48):
Ali's pretty much a doctor by now with all of the medical care she's doing.
But I tell you. Yeah. Even though I I am not the
expert, what I will tell you is blood pressure is so pivotal to the
health of all of your organs and to your entire body.
And, you know, your blood is also sending oxygen throughout the body as
well, and so it affects the function of everything. And,
(14:11):
it can even affect, you know, your mental clarity and
well-being. And so blood pressure is very important. And
depending on different factors like your age, some of the lifestyle or
hereditary factors, A doctor might adjust some
of the levels of what is good blood pressure to have,
but blood pressure can cause many medical
(14:33):
complications for individuals if it is not properly
being monitored and at good levels. And so it's something to definitely stay
aware of. A healthy blood pressure, I think they've adjusted the numbers
now. You can be a top number. Do you know Allie's, like, one thirty? I
think they do now for top. It used to be one twenty over 80,
and I believe they've moved it five one thirty over
(14:56):
85. 80. Yeah. Yeah. I think you're right. Because, I mean,
going from 80 to 85 is a huge jump even though it's only, like, you
know, very minute, but it's still in blood pressure
numbers. That that's a big jump. Yeah. And and what a lot of people
don't know if they do have blood pressure is that they don't have
to to have that blood pressure. That they can
(15:19):
change their eating habits or their health habits, and
that helps with the blood pressure. It's amazing how food can
be medicine. It really can be medicine for the body. And
just making a few changes to diet and changes
to your mobility, how much you're you're moving and getting
around. And that's something too. You know, after 2020, as a
(15:41):
society, we were sitting a lot more for a while being online or being
home, and we started seeing some of those heart conditions
and issues with cardiovascular deep disease start to rise because
people were not out getting the same normal healthy
interactions and physical that they would be doing and even the
quality of food. Are you are you cooking a healthy, well rounded meal? Are you
(16:03):
making sure you're getting that nutritious food that beats the heart? And so
there are just different things like that that can help to be so preventative, such
an easy change to make in the diet if you just if you
know. And we, as the American Heart Association, even here in
Houston, we work with lots of groups that are
providing food where it's needed. Like, we have a lot of
(16:25):
partners who we come alongside and we try to help and make
sure that not only when food is being provided for those
communities in need, is it food, but it's also nutritious food.
So that we're hoping, hopefully helping to feed that heart health long term. And
of course, for women, it it's just as important. Absolutely.
I think women, our number one goal is taking care of ourself and
(16:48):
strictly focus on our her husband and our work.
Mothers, grandmothers always wanna take care of their grandbabies,
their children first before they really do listen to themselves and be
like, am I really tired just because I've been running around with my three year
old all day, or am I tired because of why I have a heart, you
know, heart disease or heart issues that are coming up? That is the number
(17:09):
one advocacy thing that I do for women, and it's really just listening
to your body. And if there's that one little thing that's not
normal in your everyday normal, get it checked out because
that's the most important thing you can do is listen to your body, talk to
your doctors, and figure out a solution. Yeah. And I've also heard
stress can also cause high blood pressure, but then up, and you
(17:31):
control stress. You know? I think it has to do with a huge
look on lifestyle, not just food
strictly, but lifestyle of going out and enjoying the
sun. That immediately like, you're people don't understand how our
mental capabilities change just by getting enough vitamin
d or the happiness of going on a walk and saying hi
(17:53):
to your neighbors. Like, that's a whole different lifestyle change that's not
just focused on food and the diet, but to me is just going out
and doing things that you normally wouldn't do, like sitting on the couch watching a
movie. Why not go out and have dinner and be social? That to me
changes a whole bunch with blood pressure, heart disease, and everything
else. Yeah. And Well, no. Just what Ally is saying, we have
(18:15):
entire, like, infographics that American Heart will share, and it's like,
take your five minute stretch break. Get up and go outside and take a
walk. And they're all things that bring down stress.
And just like Ali was saying, get you in touch with vitamin
d, health healthy and and good endorphins, things being released in
the body that help to combat the toxic
(18:38):
nature of what can be stress in our bodies. And it's
amazing that taking care of yourself can look like,
let's go for a quick walk. Let's take a stretch. Let's drink some
water. That can be a huge difference. Yeah. And and I
think the most important thing is to, I guess, talk
to ourselves and and decide that we're going to make that
(19:00):
change. Mhmm. That change is going to be what's going
to help us. Right? And it all starts with us. It no
one else can help you but yourself. You know? Right. That's why being
an advocate for yourself is number one, especially in my
book. Number one, no matter where you are in the world hospital, going
to the park, saying no to certain things, like, just being an
(19:22):
advocate for yourself is the number one most important thing to me in
this world. Because if you can take care of yourself, then you can take care
of others, and then they can take care of somebody else. And it's just a
chain reaction. And then everybody's happy. Everybody becomes healthier
whether it's a little bit or a lot. Right. So, Ellie,
now I wanna know Sorry to hold you on all the time. To
(19:44):
you. Basically, I was
a avid athlete. I was an avid athlete growing up. I was
on swim team from the young ages of, you know,
adolescence, and then I got into dancing starting at the age of
four, so I did dancing and swimming. I became a pre professional ballet
dancer at the age of 10 and danced anywhere from
(20:07):
to twenty hours a week rehearsing for shows that we had multiple times a
year. I've done I was in Nutcracker with Allez Forte,
the company that I used to dance with, which is in Sugar Land, Texas. I
was a dancer with them for about eight and a half years until it was
time for me to go to college. And when I went to college, I joined
the rowing team because I wanted to be an athlete. I wanted to continue
(20:29):
being healthy. And then all of a sudden, it was like, I got really
tired during the day. I I would wake up to go to classes, and I
couldn't go to class because I was so exhausted or I couldn't walk so far.
Breathing for me got really hard. It was like my lungs just couldn't
expand to their full capability to get enough oxygen
into my body to where my heart could pump, you know, because heart is the
(20:51):
main engine of the whole system. And if that doesn't work well, then the
rest of your organs cannot work right. And so that's really what happened
to me. And so I I had told my mom, you know, things are are
I I noticed some changes, and she was like, well, I think you're just partying
too hard. You know, you're a freshman in college. It's a whole new world. And
I was like, no, mom. Like, something is really it's just it just it
(21:13):
didn't feel right to me, and and just wholeheartedly, it did not feel right.
My mind was like, something is wrong. I kind of ignored it. Our
rowing team for Texas a and m, we ended up going to Austin, and it's
called our erg rodeo. So we're on rowing machines trying to see who can row
the fastest 2,000 meters, fastest time he possibly
could. Wow. And then It's it's very tough. My husband, who I met
(21:36):
in college, he was the captain of the rowing team. I believe he rowed
2,000 meters in seven point two five minutes. Wow.
And I ended up passing out when I was when it was my turn.
I had a 88 meters left, and that number will never ever
leave my mind. I ended up passing out. And so I wake
up. My whole team is around me. Kinda like I just lost my
(21:58):
breath. You know? Wasn't breathing right while exercising. And
the the ambulance came, and they're like, you know, we think you're just dehydrated. And
to me, having that said, I was like, there's no way.
Like, my team, we drank enough water. We drank Gatorade for electrolytes.
We ate enough food to, like, give us the protein and just,
you know, being an athlete, like, preparing yourself for something
(22:21):
so rigorous. Yeah. As an athlete, you know what you need.
No. You do. You do. And it was just, like, to me, it
just was not a good enough answer. So they took me to
the hospital, and they did all these tests, and, of course, they didn't find anything.
They're like, we need you to go to your pediatrician. Oh, I still saw my
pediatrician, but they were like, you need to go to your doctor because I was
(22:41):
only 18. I was like, why go to an old adult doctor if my pediatrician
who knows me for the last eighteen years can figure out
what's wrong? Same thing. He was like, I think you're just dehydrated. I
I I don't think you, you know, did enough preparedness
for, you know, what you're doing. I still was not happy with the
answer, so I kinda just ignored it. You know, doctors know
(23:03):
best a parent. But in some instances, doctors
don't really know everything. And I went to go check
out, you know, to pay my bill, and I passed out
again. Next thing you know that warmest? No. And so next thing I know,
I'm waking up, like, you know, something's wrong. They check my blood
pressure. It is, like, pretty low. Like, not even
(23:25):
registering on the machine. It was so low. Oh, wow. My pulse was, I
think, like, in the forties, which for an
athlete, yeah, 60 is good. 40 is a little
extreme, especially when you're not, you know, anything. I mean, that's
a little high, you know, a little low. And so they called my dad, and
he rushed me to Texas Children's, which is in the Texas Medical Center.
(23:47):
They did test and came to find out from the MRI
that I had viral cardiomyopathy. And I was
first like, okay. What what medicine do we need to take? How do we get
rid of this? Like, you know, let's just What is it? What is
it? I could viral a yes virus. And, of course, I know all this now
because I'm so I'm very intellectual when it comes to heart disease and heart
(24:09):
transplants now that I at the time, I was like, biocard what
cardiomyop like, what? That's a big word. That's a big
word. Right. And so I asked the doctor, and I was like, what
medicine do I need to take? She's like, no, honey. Like, this isn't
going away. I was like, wait. You like, what? And she's like, no.
This is this is not going away. Like, you're this is heart
(24:31):
disease. You are officially in the category of heart disease,
not heart issues or heart, you know, blood pressure or
anything. You have heart disease. That was a whole new, like, whirlwind.
My world just, like, blew up. Yeah.
Blew up. And so then Like, you hit a wall. I I did. I hit
a wall because I was like, I have a whole new like, I just
(24:54):
started college. I was a freshman, and, like, all this just bombarded on
me. Yeah. It's like, how is it possible? What does it even
mean? Yeah. And I'm what what as a human, what do
you like, what is the next step? Started at that time,
I stayed with, Texas Children's because they would see
me until I was, like, 19 or 20. They gave me the option to
(25:15):
see to stay with pediatrics or to go with,
adult. And I was like, well, you know what? I'm about to turn 19. I
think it's time I get away from the kids, and let's go to to more
serious, like, adult stuff. So I did, and I'd the doctors I
had were still with Texas Children's, but they also worked with my
hospital, St. Luke's. And so with Baylor St.
(25:37):
Luke's. And so started medicine therapy
where I was on beta blockers, ACE inhibitors.
Like, in a those are blood pressure medicines. Like, they some
medicines tell you how your heart should work, you know, with the electrical
issues, how to pump, you know, and stuff like that. I was And
then you have to deal with all the side effects. Yeah. The side effects. That
(25:59):
was a whole another thing. And I was like, mom, I feel really sick. And
she's like, well, maybe it's one of the medicines. Well, I couldn't not take the
medicine because then I would get even sicker. So it's just, like,
a a tumbling effect that just, like, you did one thing, then
something worse would happen. And that was a whole another whirlwind that I
had to learn. Eventually, doing the medicine therapy, it
(26:22):
stopped working. My heart was just getting sicker. I did a
test after six months with the adult cardiologist, and
immediately after I was done after I finished, I was like, I
failed. Like, I totally failed. They were like my mom, of
course, was like, no. Let's just see. I was like, no, mom. I failed. My
doctor walked in, and he was like, your ejection fraction, which is it's
(26:42):
hard to explain. It's a mathematical equation of how
each chamber of your heart beats, and that therefore,
it it formulates a percentage. So my a
normal healthy human heart is anywhere from 55 to
65, maybe 70 if you're lucky, ejection fraction. That's a
healthy heart. Mine had started when I went to adult
(27:04):
cardiology at 40%, so I'd already lost
15%. Yeah. By the time I failed,
within six months, I went from 40% to
16% in six months Oh. With medicine. So that just
goes to show that you can take any type of preventative,
but it doesn't necessarily guarantee you a %. For everything's
(27:26):
99.9 because you have that point, you know, percentage,
you could be in that spot of it's not gonna work. Right.
It didn't work. So I I eventually moved
on to the heart and lung failure center
of St. Luke's, the Texas Heart Institute, and I began my
my looking for a transplant. I started with an
(27:48):
elevator left ventricular assist device, which is a non
pulsatile mechanical device that fit inside my chest.
And the motor went from 7,000 to 12,000 RPMs
faster than a race car, which my history, I've worked
with race cars for the last ten ish years. And that to me was
fascinating because I was like, the little motor inside my chest can go can beat
(28:11):
that race car on track any day. And so that
basically, the reason why it goes faster, the device was to made to
help the heart completely heal if that was a there's a
percentage in there that you could be that percentage that it heals the
heart or the heart stays the same or the heart got worse. Well, my left
ventricle had healed, which is the the part that needed
(28:33):
help. My right ventricle completely dilated. So I
completely I went into massive heart failure. Oh my goodness.
And so I got married with LVAD, which is why I'm named Bionic
Bride. My my manager at the time, he was like, this is the name I
picked off for you. And I was like, ugh. Like, no. Like, that
just we just why can't I have, like, a cool nickname? You know? I was
(28:55):
like, why the Bionic Bride? And and so I got married with
it. And then six months later, I ended up in a coma. I got a
transplant, like, two to three weeks later. Forward
all the way to 02/2023, I'm now on my third heart
transplant. And that's literally the story, and I'm so sorry I didn't break for any
of that, but it's like No. That's okay. Squirrel sometimes.
(29:18):
No. That was perfect. My line of of of what it
all Ali, well, thank you for share for sharing your story. Melody
and Ali, thank you so much for joining me for for this
show. It's so interesting. And, of course, I would like to thank
you all as well for joining me for this edition of
Spotlight Houston. And, also, if you have any
(29:40):
comments or story ideas, please let me know.
Thank you so much. Thank you. That. Thanks.
And people, I think, you know, they're they've heard maybe the name before, but they're
a little unsure what all the American Heart Association
does. Right. Being a national organization, we have a
couple different hats that we wear, different pillars of what we
try to help to do on a national level, but also within
our local communities. Right. And so we
(00:22):
work in everything from dealing with research and
science to help create a world of
longer and healthier lives for those individuals who are
suffering from cardiovascular disease. We also work in
our local communities trying to be preventative, to advocate and
help them to figure out what kind of food should I be eating, what kinds
(00:44):
of things should I be paying attention to when I go to the doctor?
What are proper numbers and things, you know, for my for
my heart health? And we also work with
teaching CPR, trying to make sure that there's one person
in every household that knows how to do hands free CPR. It's
a goal of the American Heart Association, and we even work
(01:06):
with the law. You know, you might notice that there's no smoking in
restaurants and things when you walk in Right. Or secondhand
smoke. Those are all things that the American Heart Association
advocates for and works, at a legislative led
level dealing with. And, we even love to
make sure we're educating in schools as well.
(01:34):
Thank you for joining us for another episode of Spotlight Houston, where we bring
you the best people, places, and events in Greater Houston. This week, we're rolling
back to the most popular episode of season three, A conversation that
truly touched hearts and sparked action. Originally aired as episode
one twenty two on Monday,
01/27/2025. This episode features the American
(01:54):
Heart Association. We invited them onto the show in honor of American
Heart Month, which is celebrated in February. But the work they do to save
lives and promote heart health is important all year long. From educating
communities about heart health to the powerful personal story of our
guest, Ellie Babineau, the Bionic Bride. This replay is
full of vital info and heartfelt inspiration. You'll also
(02:17):
hear from Melody Tornow, development director for the American Heart Association
in Houston, as she shares how they help families and
individuals live longer, healthier lives through CPR training,
advocacy, and awareness. This is episode one thirty six. If you
want to hear the extended version of this episode, check out the YouTube
video. Spotlight Houston is brought to you by StoryZone Media. And now,
(02:38):
here's your host, Blanca Quesada. Hi. Did you
know February is American Heart Month?
Well, I knew it, so I wanted to share that information
with you. And so what does it all mean?
Well, it means that the American
Heart Association spotlights and encourages people, our
(03:01):
communities, to, focus on our cardiovascular
health. But it really doesn't take much, and it's not that
scary. And because and I'm telling you this because I've done it.
So, anyway, if you want any information,
it's on their website, and they show you, you know,
what their toolkit that contains facts and resources
(03:26):
that anyone can use to learn
about the risk of heart disease and the
importance of identifying and managing heart
related health conditions. You know me. I wanted to learn
more about the American Heart Association and what
all they can do for us, how they can help us,
(03:47):
and why the month of February is so important.
And and this month, of course, helps raise
the awareness of our heart health.
So with me today are two very, very, very amazing
women. They are so and they're here
to help us understand and to pay more attention
(04:10):
to our heart. So welcome to the show, Melody
Tornow, the development director and and
Ally Babinow, survivor and advocate
and also known as the bionic bride. I'm intrigued.
I wanna find out why. And so, Melody,
before we get started in all that y'all are doing,
(04:32):
would you give me a little brief history about the American Heart
Association, how long it's been around, and why
it was created? Absolutely. It's such a pleasure to be able to join
you and to talk about heart month. You know, for the American
Heart Association, it's a heart day
every day of the year. But especially in February, it's
(04:55):
exciting because, all Americans are actually
exposed to a reminder of how important their heart health
is. And the American Heart Association
was founded in 1924 by six cardiologists
who got together and saw the need, for this
organization. It later became a nonprofit.
(05:17):
They turned it over into a nonprofit. And so now it's actually
the the largest and the oldest nonprofit
in America that works heart health, cardiovascular
health, and and dealing with stroke as well. So we're really proud of that. We
just celebrated a hundred years, last year. Yeah. Yeah.
And people, I think, you know, they're they've heard maybe the name before, but they're
(05:40):
a little unsure what all the American Heart Association
does. Right. Being a national organization, we have a
couple different hats that we wear, different pillars of what we
try to help to do on a national level, but also within our
local communities. Right. And so we work
in everything from dealing with research and science
(06:02):
to help create a world of longer
and healthier lives for those individuals who are suffering
from cardiovascular disease. We also work in our
local communities trying to be preventative to advocate and help
them to figure out what kind of food should I be eating, what kinds of
things should I be paying attention to when I go to the doctor, what
(06:24):
are proper numbers and things, you know, for my for my
heart health. And we also work with
teaching CPR, trying to make sure that there's one person
in every household that knows how to do hands free CPR. It's a
goal of the American Heart Association, and we even work with
the law. You know, you might notice that there's no smoking in restaurants and
(06:47):
restaurants and things when you walk in. Right. Or secondhand smoke. Those are all
things that the American Heart Association advocates
for and works, at a legislative led level
dealing with. And, we even love to make sure
we're educating in schools as well and helping
to start that heart health journey at a young age. And truth
(07:09):
be told, you know, cardiovascular disease is the number
one killer of men and women, not just in
America, but on a global scale, and stroke is number
two on a global scale. So it's something that everyone is
going to be affected by in some way, whether it's a loved one,
whether it's a friend, whether it's yourself personally. And
(07:31):
so the more preventative we can be with that, we hope it
leads to a healthier life for everyone and a longer life. And and there are
lots of people that never think they're going to have, you know, and they're suddenly
very surprised how quickly life can change. And Ali, who is
here, as an advocate and as someone who's experienced this for
herself, can speak to that firsthand. But Yeah. I know that was a
(07:53):
long answer, but AHA has a long answer. A great answer. It's a
great answer. But but, you know you know, there's a lot of
people that once they get diagnosed, they're
looking into their different websites trying to find out as
much information as possible, resources and
services that they can find from anywhere,
(08:15):
but we need to make sure that we're looking at the right websites that are
gonna give us that information that we need. And, also, you
mentioned, you know, that anybody can get some type
of heart disease and that it is the number one killer. But
what I think the misconception is too that it's
usually the elder people that that they have the
(08:37):
heart problems. Actuality, a lot of newborns
are are they have heart issues. Yes. And then it goes up
to, you know, little kids and teens and
young adults, and you you don't expect it. You don't expect
that that would happen. I know that there's been stories about
teens in sports having a heart issue that they didn't know
(09:00):
they had. So that's information that I think is
really important that, American Heart
Association can help with. Absolutely. I think
people have to realize that, you know, cardiovascular disease
comes in all shapes and sizes. And there are
babies in utero having their first heart surgeries
(09:22):
just like there are those who are elderly who are experiencing it for the first
time. And one of our largest spokespersons, Demar Hamlin,
he was a still is a professional
football athlete, and there he was on the field. And he
got hit in just a very specific way that stopped his
heart. And, you know, that can happen especially
(09:44):
to athletes that are healthy, that are living their best life
and a sudden impact to the heart. You know, you the heart controls
all of your well-being for the body. And I think really
works hard to help people try to be aware that this
could be anyone. And and even for mothers, for pregnant mothers,
that's something I had not realized, but
(10:06):
it is the high highest cause of mortality
for for mothers who are pregnant is actually in dealing with
cardiovascular disease, preeclampsia, you know, conditions
that are very common for mothers who are expecting. So you
just never know who who it might be.
And and, Ali, I know you can speak to that too because I know you
(10:29):
never expected to be someone experiencing a heart condition. You know,
when I started my job at the American Heart Association, I didn't even
know the difference between or that there was a difference between cardiac
arrest and between a heart attack. And and,
typically, when people think about heart health, they're really thinking about those two
things. A a cardiac arrest is an electrical
(10:51):
problem in the system, something short circuits, and the heart stops
beating, and you have to be resuscitated. You may have seen the
dramatic moment in movement in movies where they pull out, you know, the AB
and, like Yeah. You know, recharge and restart a person's heart or
CPR when it's being administered. That's gonna be someone whose heart
has stopped. But heart attacks, people who are experiencing heart
(11:13):
attacks, that is a plumbing issue in the body. And
it's really wild because someone could be sitting there looking at you,
and they're in certain types of pain or they're not really registering that there's a
huge problem, and they could be having a heart attack right then looking
at you, talking to you. I mean, it's a very different different
experience. I I, in my mind, had thought every time someone has a heart attack,
(11:35):
they're gonna be on the ground if you're doing CVR, but that's really Yeah. Not
the way that looks. And and for men and women, it can be
very different. A woman can have jaw pain, and and women experience pain
so so differently from men too. And and, of course,
that's just thinking about heart attack and cardiac arrest, but people
experience so many different heart conditions that
(11:57):
fall under cardiovascular disease. I don't think people would look
at me and necessarily immediately think I have high blood pressure, but but I
do. You know? Everyone everyone might be surprised when
they go into the doctor and see their numbers and suddenly realize maybe
something's going on with their body. So really listening to your
body and advocating for yourself if you feel like something is not
(12:19):
quite right. And the symptoms and things are listed on our
website, our national site, you know, the American Heart Association, if
you go to it, has tons of free material to help you as
you're trying to advocate for yourself or even try to figure out if something is
happening with your body that is not quite right. And it has
information also to help you to live a healthier life to be
(12:41):
preventative. Because the truth is, if a person has good cardiovascular
health at age 50, you've actually expanded
your your lifespan. For women Yeah. You've added about another
six years onto your life. For men, about another five. So good
cardiovascular health is something we all should hope to achieve looking
down the road and hoping to really have that long and healthy life.
(13:04):
And, also, when you're talking about high blood pressure,
people don't understand what that is and what the
normal their normal numbers should be. And so
a lot of times, I think they go to the doctor, and they don't
really understand. And it's like if the doctor says it's too high,
well, you know, they don't ask the doctor why and
(13:26):
and, you know, what's the reason behind that? It could be something
genetic too. Right? Right. Absolutely. And,
you know, when you talk about your blood pressure, the heart is supplying
blood all over the body. And, you know, of course, I am not a doctor.
Just gonna preface this right now as I say these answers. Please go
to your doctor to seek medical advice and care. Although
(13:48):
Ali's pretty much a doctor by now with all of the medical care she's doing.
But I tell you. Yeah. Even though I I am not the
expert, what I will tell you is blood pressure is so pivotal to the
health of all of your organs and to your entire body.
And, you know, your blood is also sending oxygen throughout the body as
well, and so it affects the function of everything. And,
(14:11):
it can even affect, you know, your mental clarity and
well-being. And so blood pressure is very important. And
depending on different factors like your age, some of the lifestyle or
hereditary factors, A doctor might adjust some
of the levels of what is good blood pressure to have,
but blood pressure can cause many medical
(14:33):
complications for individuals if it is not properly
being monitored and at good levels. And so it's something to definitely stay
aware of. A healthy blood pressure, I think they've adjusted the numbers
now. You can be a top number. Do you know Allie's, like, one thirty? I
think they do now for top. It used to be one twenty over 80,
and I believe they've moved it five one thirty over
(14:56):
85. 80. Yeah. Yeah. I think you're right. Because, I mean,
going from 80 to 85 is a huge jump even though it's only, like, you
know, very minute, but it's still in blood pressure
numbers. That that's a big jump. Yeah. And and what a lot of people
don't know if they do have blood pressure is that they don't have
to to have that blood pressure. That they can
(15:19):
change their eating habits or their health habits, and
that helps with the blood pressure. It's amazing how food can
be medicine. It really can be medicine for the body. And
just making a few changes to diet and changes
to your mobility, how much you're you're moving and getting
around. And that's something too. You know, after 2020, as a
(15:41):
society, we were sitting a lot more for a while being online or being
home, and we started seeing some of those heart conditions
and issues with cardiovascular deep disease start to rise because
people were not out getting the same normal healthy
interactions and physical that they would be doing and even the
quality of food. Are you are you cooking a healthy, well rounded meal? Are you
(16:03):
making sure you're getting that nutritious food that beats the heart? And so
there are just different things like that that can help to be so preventative, such
an easy change to make in the diet if you just if you
know. And we, as the American Heart Association, even here in
Houston, we work with lots of groups that are
providing food where it's needed. Like, we have a lot of
(16:25):
partners who we come alongside and we try to help and make
sure that not only when food is being provided for those
communities in need, is it food, but it's also nutritious food.
So that we're hoping, hopefully helping to feed that heart health long term. And
of course, for women, it it's just as important. Absolutely.
I think women, our number one goal is taking care of ourself and
(16:48):
strictly focus on our her husband and our work.
Mothers, grandmothers always wanna take care of their grandbabies,
their children first before they really do listen to themselves and be
like, am I really tired just because I've been running around with my three year
old all day, or am I tired because of why I have a heart, you
know, heart disease or heart issues that are coming up? That is the number
(17:09):
one advocacy thing that I do for women, and it's really just listening
to your body. And if there's that one little thing that's not
normal in your everyday normal, get it checked out because
that's the most important thing you can do is listen to your body, talk to
your doctors, and figure out a solution. Yeah. And I've also heard
stress can also cause high blood pressure, but then up, and you
(17:31):
control stress. You know? I think it has to do with a huge
look on lifestyle, not just food
strictly, but lifestyle of going out and enjoying the
sun. That immediately like, you're people don't understand how our
mental capabilities change just by getting enough vitamin
d or the happiness of going on a walk and saying hi
(17:53):
to your neighbors. Like, that's a whole different lifestyle change that's not
just focused on food and the diet, but to me is just going out
and doing things that you normally wouldn't do, like sitting on the couch watching a
movie. Why not go out and have dinner and be social? That to me
changes a whole bunch with blood pressure, heart disease, and everything
else. Yeah. And Well, no. Just what Ally is saying, we have
(18:15):
entire, like, infographics that American Heart will share, and it's like,
take your five minute stretch break. Get up and go outside and take a
walk. And they're all things that bring down stress.
And just like Ali was saying, get you in touch with vitamin
d, health healthy and and good endorphins, things being released in
the body that help to combat the toxic
(18:38):
nature of what can be stress in our bodies. And it's
amazing that taking care of yourself can look like,
let's go for a quick walk. Let's take a stretch. Let's drink some
water. That can be a huge difference. Yeah. And and I
think the most important thing is to, I guess, talk
to ourselves and and decide that we're going to make that
(19:00):
change. Mhmm. That change is going to be what's going
to help us. Right? And it all starts with us. It no
one else can help you but yourself. You know? Right. That's why being
an advocate for yourself is number one, especially in my
book. Number one, no matter where you are in the world hospital, going
to the park, saying no to certain things, like, just being an
(19:22):
advocate for yourself is the number one most important thing to me in
this world. Because if you can take care of yourself, then you can take care
of others, and then they can take care of somebody else. And it's just a
chain reaction. And then everybody's happy. Everybody becomes healthier
whether it's a little bit or a lot. Right. So, Ellie,
now I wanna know Sorry to hold you on all the time. To
(19:44):
you. Basically, I was
a avid athlete. I was an avid athlete growing up. I was
on swim team from the young ages of, you know,
adolescence, and then I got into dancing starting at the age of
four, so I did dancing and swimming. I became a pre professional ballet
dancer at the age of 10 and danced anywhere from
(20:07):
to twenty hours a week rehearsing for shows that we had multiple times a
year. I've done I was in Nutcracker with Allez Forte,
the company that I used to dance with, which is in Sugar Land, Texas. I
was a dancer with them for about eight and a half years until it was
time for me to go to college. And when I went to college, I joined
the rowing team because I wanted to be an athlete. I wanted to continue
(20:29):
being healthy. And then all of a sudden, it was like, I got really
tired during the day. I I would wake up to go to classes, and I
couldn't go to class because I was so exhausted or I couldn't walk so far.
Breathing for me got really hard. It was like my lungs just couldn't
expand to their full capability to get enough oxygen
into my body to where my heart could pump, you know, because heart is the
(20:51):
main engine of the whole system. And if that doesn't work well, then the
rest of your organs cannot work right. And so that's really what happened
to me. And so I I had told my mom, you know, things are are
I I noticed some changes, and she was like, well, I think you're just partying
too hard. You know, you're a freshman in college. It's a whole new world. And
I was like, no, mom. Like, something is really it's just it just it
(21:13):
didn't feel right to me, and and just wholeheartedly, it did not feel right.
My mind was like, something is wrong. I kind of ignored it. Our
rowing team for Texas a and m, we ended up going to Austin, and it's
called our erg rodeo. So we're on rowing machines trying to see who can row
the fastest 2,000 meters, fastest time he possibly
could. Wow. And then It's it's very tough. My husband, who I met
(21:36):
in college, he was the captain of the rowing team. I believe he rowed
2,000 meters in seven point two five minutes. Wow.
And I ended up passing out when I was when it was my turn.
I had a 88 meters left, and that number will never ever
leave my mind. I ended up passing out. And so I wake
up. My whole team is around me. Kinda like I just lost my
(21:58):
breath. You know? Wasn't breathing right while exercising. And
the the ambulance came, and they're like, you know, we think you're just dehydrated. And
to me, having that said, I was like, there's no way.
Like, my team, we drank enough water. We drank Gatorade for electrolytes.
We ate enough food to, like, give us the protein and just,
you know, being an athlete, like, preparing yourself for something
(22:21):
so rigorous. Yeah. As an athlete, you know what you need.
No. You do. You do. And it was just, like, to me, it
just was not a good enough answer. So they took me to
the hospital, and they did all these tests, and, of course, they didn't find anything.
They're like, we need you to go to your pediatrician. Oh, I still saw my
pediatrician, but they were like, you need to go to your doctor because I was
(22:41):
only 18. I was like, why go to an old adult doctor if my pediatrician
who knows me for the last eighteen years can figure out
what's wrong? Same thing. He was like, I think you're just dehydrated. I
I I don't think you, you know, did enough preparedness
for, you know, what you're doing. I still was not happy with the
answer, so I kinda just ignored it. You know, doctors know
(23:03):
best a parent. But in some instances, doctors
don't really know everything. And I went to go check
out, you know, to pay my bill, and I passed out
again. Next thing you know that warmest? No. And so next thing I know,
I'm waking up, like, you know, something's wrong. They check my blood
pressure. It is, like, pretty low. Like, not even
(23:25):
registering on the machine. It was so low. Oh, wow. My pulse was, I
think, like, in the forties, which for an
athlete, yeah, 60 is good. 40 is a little
extreme, especially when you're not, you know, anything. I mean, that's
a little high, you know, a little low. And so they called my dad, and
he rushed me to Texas Children's, which is in the Texas Medical Center.
(23:47):
They did test and came to find out from the MRI
that I had viral cardiomyopathy. And I was
first like, okay. What what medicine do we need to take? How do we get
rid of this? Like, you know, let's just What is it? What is
it? I could viral a yes virus. And, of course, I know all this now
because I'm so I'm very intellectual when it comes to heart disease and heart
(24:09):
transplants now that I at the time, I was like, biocard what
cardiomyop like, what? That's a big word. That's a big
word. Right. And so I asked the doctor, and I was like, what
medicine do I need to take? She's like, no, honey. Like, this isn't
going away. I was like, wait. You like, what? And she's like, no.
This is this is not going away. Like, you're this is heart
(24:31):
disease. You are officially in the category of heart disease,
not heart issues or heart, you know, blood pressure or
anything. You have heart disease. That was a whole new, like, whirlwind.
My world just, like, blew up. Yeah.
Blew up. And so then Like, you hit a wall. I I did. I hit
a wall because I was like, I have a whole new like, I just
(24:54):
started college. I was a freshman, and, like, all this just bombarded on
me. Yeah. It's like, how is it possible? What does it even
mean? Yeah. And I'm what what as a human, what do
you like, what is the next step? Started at that time,
I stayed with, Texas Children's because they would see
me until I was, like, 19 or 20. They gave me the option to
(25:15):
see to stay with pediatrics or to go with,
adult. And I was like, well, you know what? I'm about to turn 19. I
think it's time I get away from the kids, and let's go to to more
serious, like, adult stuff. So I did, and I'd the doctors I
had were still with Texas Children's, but they also worked with my
hospital, St. Luke's. And so with Baylor St.
(25:37):
Luke's. And so started medicine therapy
where I was on beta blockers, ACE inhibitors.
Like, in a those are blood pressure medicines. Like, they some
medicines tell you how your heart should work, you know, with the electrical
issues, how to pump, you know, and stuff like that. I was And
then you have to deal with all the side effects. Yeah. The side effects. That
(25:59):
was a whole another thing. And I was like, mom, I feel really sick. And
she's like, well, maybe it's one of the medicines. Well, I couldn't not take the
medicine because then I would get even sicker. So it's just, like,
a a tumbling effect that just, like, you did one thing, then
something worse would happen. And that was a whole another whirlwind that I
had to learn. Eventually, doing the medicine therapy, it
(26:22):
stopped working. My heart was just getting sicker. I did a
test after six months with the adult cardiologist, and
immediately after I was done after I finished, I was like, I
failed. Like, I totally failed. They were like my mom, of
course, was like, no. Let's just see. I was like, no, mom. I failed. My
doctor walked in, and he was like, your ejection fraction, which is it's
(26:42):
hard to explain. It's a mathematical equation of how
each chamber of your heart beats, and that therefore,
it it formulates a percentage. So my a
normal healthy human heart is anywhere from 55 to
65, maybe 70 if you're lucky, ejection fraction. That's a
healthy heart. Mine had started when I went to adult
(27:04):
cardiology at 40%, so I'd already lost
15%. Yeah. By the time I failed,
within six months, I went from 40% to
16% in six months Oh. With medicine. So that just
goes to show that you can take any type of preventative,
but it doesn't necessarily guarantee you a %. For everything's
(27:26):
99.9 because you have that point, you know, percentage,
you could be in that spot of it's not gonna work. Right.
It didn't work. So I I eventually moved
on to the heart and lung failure center
of St. Luke's, the Texas Heart Institute, and I began my
my looking for a transplant. I started with an
(27:48):
elevator left ventricular assist device, which is a non
pulsatile mechanical device that fit inside my chest.
And the motor went from 7,000 to 12,000 RPMs
faster than a race car, which my history, I've worked
with race cars for the last ten ish years. And that to me was
fascinating because I was like, the little motor inside my chest can go can beat
(28:11):
that race car on track any day. And so that
basically, the reason why it goes faster, the device was to made to
help the heart completely heal if that was a there's a
percentage in there that you could be that percentage that it heals the
heart or the heart stays the same or the heart got worse. Well, my left
ventricle had healed, which is the the part that needed
(28:33):
help. My right ventricle completely dilated. So I
completely I went into massive heart failure. Oh my goodness.
And so I got married with LVAD, which is why I'm named Bionic
Bride. My my manager at the time, he was like, this is the name I
picked off for you. And I was like, ugh. Like, no. Like, that
just we just why can't I have, like, a cool nickname? You know? I was
(28:55):
like, why the Bionic Bride? And and so I got married with
it. And then six months later, I ended up in a coma. I got a
transplant, like, two to three weeks later. Forward
all the way to 02/2023, I'm now on my third heart
transplant. And that's literally the story, and I'm so sorry I didn't break for any
of that, but it's like No. That's okay. Squirrel sometimes.
(29:18):
No. That was perfect. My line of of of what it
all Ali, well, thank you for share for sharing your story. Melody
and Ali, thank you so much for joining me for for this
show. It's so interesting. And, of course, I would like to thank
you all as well for joining me for this edition of
Spotlight Houston. And, also, if you have any
(29:40):
comments or story ideas, please let me know.
Thank you so much. Thank you. That. Thanks.
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