Heart disease is the number one killer of women and an Evansville woman narrowly escaped from becoming part of that statistic. Now, she's using her story to inspire others.
How do you tell a story about a writer?
If that writer is Mary Biever, you let her tell the story.
"I write therefore I am," said Biever. "As a twist on that, as something comes to me to write, I have to do it."
Finding inspiration is easy for Biever. It hangs on the walls, it clutters her desk and it occupies her mind.
"Sometimes [my family] will look at me and I'll have this far off look," said Biever. "They'll say, 'mom's writing, leave her alone. She's thinking."
She gets a twinkle in her eye when she imagines a great story. But it was a pain in her jaw that alerted her to another story.
Her own.
"I flippantly said to the tech as he was reading the results coming out of the EKG machine," said Biever. "I said, is this a heart attack? He said yes."
After a friend urged her to go, Biever went to St. Mary's Hospital in Evansville. At 47, with no family history of heart disease, Biever thought she was too young to have a heart attack.
Sometimes, life thinks otherwise.
"I think if i had been more stubborn for 15-20 minutes, it might have had a different outcome," said Biever.
If a writer needs inspiriation, every compelling character needs a supporting cast.
Samantha Ingraham was more than happy to fill the role.
"Mary has worked for our company off and on the last couple years," said Ingraham. "We like to call her a bench warmer."
After a heart attack, Biever has a reason to wear red and her co-workers have a reason to wear it too. In honor of the 10th annual 'Go Red for Women' day, the parking lot of a west side restaurant was full of red Friday morning.
"She thought she was having lunch with just me," said Ingraham. "We just came out to show our support and we're all wearing red."
Following her heart attack, Biever has made drastic changes to her diet and is on a steady exercise plan. Doctors say she's expected to make a full recovery.
When you write about a writer, just because it's the last line, doesn't mean the story is over.
"I'm not dead yet," said Biever. "I'm still kicking and I have a lot more stories to write."
How do you tell a story about a writer?
If that writer is Mary Biever, you let her tell the story.
"I write therefore I am," said Biever. "As a twist on that, as something comes to me to write, I have to do it."
Finding inspiration is easy for Biever. It hangs on the walls, it clutters her desk and it occupies her mind.
"Sometimes [my family] will look at me and I'll have this far off look," said Biever. "They'll say, 'mom's writing, leave her alone. She's thinking."
She gets a twinkle in her eye when she imagines a great story. But it was a pain in her jaw that alerted her to another story.
Her own.
"I flippantly said to the tech as he was reading the results coming out of the EKG machine," said Biever. "I said, is this a heart attack? He said yes."
After a friend urged her to go, Biever went to St. Mary's Hospital in Evansville. At 47, with no family history of heart disease, Biever thought she was too young to have a heart attack.
Sometimes, life thinks otherwise.
"I think if i had been more stubborn for 15-20 minutes, it might have had a different outcome," said Biever.
If a writer needs inspiriation, every compelling character needs a supporting cast.
Samantha Ingraham was more than happy to fill the role.
"Mary has worked for our company off and on the last couple years," said Ingraham. "We like to call her a bench warmer."
After a heart attack, Biever has a reason to wear red and her co-workers have a reason to wear it too. In honor of the 10th annual 'Go Red for Women' day, the parking lot of a west side restaurant was full of red Friday morning.
"She thought she was having lunch with just me," said Ingraham. "We just came out to show our support and we're all wearing red."
Following her heart attack, Biever has made drastic changes to her diet and is on a steady exercise plan. Doctors say she's expected to make a full recovery.
When you write about a writer, just because it's the last line, doesn't mean the story is over.
"I'm not dead yet," said Biever. "I'm still kicking and I have a lot more stories to write."
