“I was weeding flowers when I felt sort of dizzy. I was getting weak, and my heart just felt as if it were going to jump out on me. I said, ‘Lord, please give me the strength to make it back to the house.’

“They told me I needed triple bypass heart surgery. When I first met Dr. Lowry at the Heart Center, I didn’t know a thing about him, but I liked him immediately. He’s just a wonderful doctor. He always has a smile, and you can’t help but enjoy someone who is as lively as he is. There are some doctors who don’t take the time to know their patients, but Dr. Lowry is really interested in whom he cares for, and it shows.

“Every nurse in the Heart Center was as nice as could be. I couldn’t ask for any better. Every time I needed something, they were right there — all the way up to the day it was time for me to go home.

“When I came home, I felt pretty good, but it took awhile to get my strength back. Now, I have energy! Every day I take Lady, my little Jack Russell, for a walk. We walk two miles a day — sometimes four. Lady keeps me on the go. When I slow down, she pulls me and makes me go a little more.

“I feel great –– like a million dollars! I feel as though God has helped me so much.”

—Gillie Carrol