It was only last summer when Nichole Wetjen was riding her bike around town and experienced her first chest pains and warning signs of a heart attack. She’s thankful to be back on her bike this spring and hopes others can learn from her story.
It’s been about seven months since Nichole Wetjen suffered a major heart attack on July 17, 2024, that nearly took her life. A new normal has arrived for Nichole, who is living with a damaged heart. After months of cardiac rehab, she’s learned so much about heart health for women and how heart attack symptoms for women can be much different than for men.
Nichole is a special education teacher who leads a busy life working full time for ESU 6, managing their CRAVE program in York. She is married to Heartland teacher/coach Erik Wetjen and has two college-aged children, Kalea and Kale, and Thane, a senior at Heartland.
Last summer, Nichole was riding her bike around Henderson when she experienced some mild chest pains. Soon after, she had the same type of pain while working in her backyard garden. She wasn’t alarmed about the chest pains because they subsided after she rested for about ten minutes.
“Like most women, I didn’t want to bother anyone about my symptoms, and since the pain had gone away, I didn’t really acknowledge it,” said Nichole.
At age 52, Nichole has always led an active and healthy life, but before last June, she had some red flags pop up unexpectedly. “Earlier in the year, I’d been to the doctor about some numbness I’d had in both my arms, causing me to drop things sometimes. I thought maybe I was having mini strokes or something, but after testing, nothing was discovered about what was causing it,” said Nichole.
When it started happening more frequently, she decided to follow up at the Henderson Health Care Clinic for an appointment. During the appointment, she mentioned, “By the way, I’ve had these chest pains while riding my bike and working in the garden.”
“My healthcare provider was like, ‘Nichole, this is something you should tell me about right away!’ I realize now it was easier to ignore my symptoms, feeling like I didn’t want to be a bother or nuisance. I’ve learned that heart-related symptoms for women can be different than men, and there isn’t enough research about women’s heart issues,” said Nichole.
It was another week before she was able to come back to the hospital and do a stress test after her insurance approved it.
“During the stress test, I began having the same pain again, and they immediately lifted me off the treadmill and put me on the bed. Fortunately, a cardiologist was scheduled to be at the HHCS specialty clinic the next day, and they were able to fit me in to see Dr. Jain,” said Nichole.
Looking back, Nichole can now see how tired she felt before her symptoms but thought it was from the normal stress of working full-time and managing a family and home. Even climbing stairs had become an effort, but she, like many women, dismissed the warning signs.
On Thursday, after seeing Dr. Jain, he ordered a heart cath test, but she had to wait until the following week after her insurance company approved it. She was sent home with a prescription for a couple of doses of Nitroglycerin, and the pharmacist at the Henderson Pharmacy instructed her how to use it if she had more episodes.
“I didn’t think I’d need it at all but was warned to sit down before putting the Nitro under my tongue in case I experienced dizziness or a headache,” she said.
By this time, Nichole felt very tired and slept most of Saturday. She told her family they’d not be going to church on Sunday since she didn’t think she could even manage the stairs at their church.
She went to bed early and had no idea that her worst nightmare was soon to wake her up.
“I was awakened around 1 a.m. by what felt like a vise grip squeezing my chest. It was incredibly hard feeling pain, and I took the Nitro and waited for it to subside, and then I called the E.R. at the Henderson hospital asking them what I should do,” said Nichole.
After talking with the staff at the E.R., she decided she felt better and could stay home. At about 2:30 a.m., she had another bout of severe pain and took another dose of Nitro, which made her nauseous. In between all this, she thought she had called her husband Erik, who was in the basement watching TV, but apparently she didn’t.
“I knew I couldn’t make it down the stairs to alert him, so thankfully, he heard his cell phone around 3 a.m.”
In the meantime, Nichole had managed to clean herself up, get dressed, and pack a small bag to take to the hospital. She’d already called the E.R. again and told them her status and that she and Erik would be there shortly.
Nichole, as usual, did not want to burden anyone with her situation and decided not to call 911 because she didn’t want the EMTs to have to get up in the middle of the night for her. She also chose not to awaken her kids in the middle of the night and scare them.
What happened next at the Henderson E.R. was a blur of frantic activity because they had trouble finding a vein to start an I.V. Eventually, an off-duty nurse was called in and found a vein so Nichole could get some relief. She described her pain as worse than having a baby.
The blood test showed evidence that she had had a heart attack, so plans were quickly put into place for the York Fire Department Rescue Unit to transport her to Bryan Heart in Lincoln. By 5 a.m., she was on her way to Bryan.
During the ride, she was receiving morphine, which helped manage the pain, but she remembers the attending EMT saying, ‘Hey Nichole, tell me about your kids,’ and “I’m thinking they think I’m going to die!” They sped up as soon as the rescue unit got past the construction outside of Lincoln, racing to Bryan.
Nichole was no stranger to heart attacks since her father suffered his first one when he was 39 years old, and she was set to leave for college in Kansas the next day. He received one of the second stints ever done in 1990 and, since then, has had a bypass and has 14 stints. “It wasn’t until after I was married that I started worrying about my heart health. But after I passed my father’s age at 39, I pretty much thought I was fine,” she said.
After arriving safely at Bryan, she was wheeled directly to the Cath lab, which looked more like an office. “I was told this is very serious, and you need to let us do everything—don’t move.” They were able to insert the catheter through her wrist, revealing 100% blockage in her left anterior descending aorta, otherwise known as the widow maker. A stint was then successfully inserted, so there wasn’t a need for a bypass.
Fortunately, Erik was able to contact their parents, and unbeknownst to Nichole, her father and stepmother were actually passed by the rescue unit, driving on their way to Lincoln from Hastings to be with Nichole. It was comforting for Nichole to see her father after her harrowing experience since he understood what she had experienced.
Nichole stayed three days at Bryan and would have left after two, but the numbness in her arm reoccurred. “They first thought maybe it was a stroke, but after running tests, they didn’t see anything. Today, when it happens, it’s more of a sensation and not like what I felt before my heart attack. It may have something to do with my circulation, so I’m still learning about it,” said Nichole.
Nichole, during her stay at Bryan Heart with her father, Robert Boyd, and daughter, Kalea, at her side.
It was amazing to Nichole that her heart had been managing by forming collaterals, small blood vessels that enlarge to bypass blockages. The doctors told her she had a large number, meaning it had been going on for a long time.
“When I sit down and think about what happened, it seems surreal—I almost died. I do tell people that I was never worried or scared but just in so much pain.” Even though her heart is damaged and will never be the same, she has made great progress through cardiac rehabilitation at York General Hospital.
After her heart attack, Nichole wore a life vest for twelve weeks, which is a walking defibrillator, so if her heart stopped, it would automatically shock it. During cardiac rehab, she worked to improve her cardiac strength through a regiment of exercises, light lifting, and medications.
“I learned so much through the rehab and know the importance of monitoring my weight and diet because heart patients are more apt to retain water, which puts a higher demand on your heart.” She understands that her genetics, hormonal changes, cholesterol, and stress all play a part in maintaining her heart health.
Nichole is happy to share her heart attack story to raise awareness for other women. “I’m learning how to be a better advocate for my own health. I want others to know not to ignore warning signs like how I felt so tired this past year and had trouble climbing stairs.”
She’s also concerned about her children and their future heart health. “It’s not too early in their 20s to do cholesterol screening. I also learned about a calcium screening test or CAC scan that measures the amount of calcium deposits in the arteries.”
True to form, Nichole was back to work on last August 1st and is well on her way to a complete recovery. She’s happy to be able to ride her bike outside again and resume her gardening this spring.
Like anyone who’s gone through a life-threatening health event, Nichole looks at things differently.
She’s still processing what happened to her and admits to having experienced some survival guilt, wondering why her life was spared and not others. But she also realizes God was in control of her situation and is thankful for her successful outcome.
This picture of Nichole’s family was taken a few weeks before her heart attack, celebrating her daughter Kalea’s college graduation from UNO. From L to R: Erik Wetjen, Robert & Lisa Boyd, Kalea, Kale, Thane, Robert & Bonnie Wetjen and Nichole.
