Medical specialists know the "science" of being sick.
Rudy offers the powerful, riveting perspective of "been there, done that."

Why Rudy can help the media:

She's been:

• The patient.
• The caregiver of a patient.
• A hospital human resource manager.
• Co-chair or an American Heart Association's Women and Heart Disease Committee
• Member National Board of Directors of the Adult Congenital Heart Association.
• 2006 WomenHeart Mayo Symposium graduate
• Member AATH, Association of Applied Therapeutic Humor.

Rudy knows what it means to not only survive medical crisis,
she knows how to thrive while living with a chronic, life-threatening medical condition.

Rudy's sense of humor is an added bonus,
making her an expert you'll want to call on often.

Click here to listen to Rudy on the air with Randy and Spiff in Atlanta, GA.

Contact us if you need knowledgeable, first-hand, layperson perspective on the following issues:

• Living with heart disease.
• How to create lasting, win/win relationships with your doctors.
• How to tap into the power of humor when facing personal challenges.
• Thriving (versus merely surviving) despite a chronic health condition.
• Living with medical mechanics such as: heart valves, pacemakers, leads, wires and even that notorious pacer wire which Rudy has named "Emily."
• Growing up with a congenital heart condition.

Rudy can provide tips from the patient and the caregiver's perspective when facing a chronic, debilitating disease. See her Tips Page for a list of suggested topics.

In addition:

• Rudy can write freelance articles which are powerful, accurate and meet deadlines.
• Rudy can provide a list of other resources on the topics related to women and heart disease, congenital heart disease and the relationship between humor and health.
• Rudy understands and will work with you to meet deadlines with accurate and up-to-date information.

Click Here for a media one sheet.

Short version of bio:

Hailed as the Erma Bombeck for the 21st Century, Rudy Wilson Galdonik is a menopausal mom with an attitude. A tad shy of bionic, she is a lifelong heart patient with $40,000 worth of equipment in her chest. Take Heart! Rudy's laugh-out-loud essay collection, chronicles the struggles, joys and hilarity that come from being a perfect-mom-wannabe, an over-the-top-animal lover, and a heart patient with an overactive funny bone.

Long version of bio:

Hailed as the Erma Bombeck for the 21st Century, Rudy Wilson Galdonik is a menopausal mom with an attitude. A tad shy of bionic, she is a lifelong heart patient with $40,000 worth of equipment in her chest (that's the uninstalled price of two mechanical heart valves, a pacemaker, assorted leads, wires and a pacer wire named Emily).
Take Heart! Rudy's laugh-out-loud essay collection chronicles the struggles, joys and hilarity that come after spending way too many hours tethered to a heart-lung machine.
 
Rudy is a 3-dimensional expert on being sick – she has been the patient, the caregiver of a patient, and a former hospital human resource manager. She understands the challenges, emotions and issues of being sick. She understands the pressures endured by caregivers, and the problems and challenges of doctors, hospitals and medical personnel. Her passion is to couple this expertise with humor to encourage people to take charge of their health. She is also a valuable resource to the medical community to understand the perspectives of patients and caregivers.

As WomenHeart advocate and former Co-chair of the American Heart Association, Rhode Island Chapter's Women and Heart Disease Committee, Rudy has been instrumental in spreading the word about the risks and prevention of the Number One killer of both women and men. In 2003, Rudy received the American Heart Association's Heart of the Year Award.

When Rudy is not writing or speaking, she is busy stealing treasures off her neighbor's trash.

 Recent Reviews of Take Heart!

She may have $40,000 of medical miracles inside of her body but the humor this woman's pen shares is priceless! Rudy contacted me out of the blue one day about her book Take Heart! and I am so glad the internet helped this witty down-to-earth woman cross my path.

Carol Wells www.humorisrelative.com

There are laugh-out-loud moments that made my husband demand to know what was so funny. How do you explain an entire book bubbling with life and laughter alongside sorrow and pain, in a few sentences? Even this review won't be sufficient to explain exactly what it was I loved about this book. But the fact remains - I did. And I believe you will, too.

Peggy Phifer Editor/Publisher/Reviewer, Wordsmith Shoppe Weekly

These real life stories come together in force to tell of the author's journey through heart surgery and more. It should have left me sad and upset. It left me encouraged and determined with a positive attitude adjustment. The book is hilarious, with real and powerful moments. It's a splendid book to read and a perfect book to give.

Judy Buch, a reader from Hartford, CT