Daughter's story: My dad's heart disease
"I had a midlife crisis at 34. It was 2011. That was the year my beautiful dad died after a long struggle with heart disease. He was 68.
Fred Chettle was a quietly intelligent man who had a smile that could light up a room, no matter how much he was hurting on the inside.
Dad had a long list of heart problems that first emerged around the year 2000. He had an enlarged heart. Later there was surgery to insert stents. I still recall the surgeon reading him the riot act because there was so much calcification in his heart, he couldn’t perform one part of the operation.
Dad casually revealed that he wasn’t surprised, because his parents and grandparents also had cardiovascular issues. I was stunned. That meant that there were three generations of heart disease in front of me.
![Fred in the hospital looking at a photo of his grandchild Fred in the hospital looking at a photo of his grandchild](https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=90&q=60&w=120 120w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=180&q=60&w=240 240w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=270&q=60&w=360 360w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=360&q=60&w=480 480w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=450&q=60&w=600 600w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=60&w=720 720w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=630&q=60&w=840 840w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=720&q=60&w=960 960w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=810&q=60&w=1080 1080w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=900&q=60&w=1200 1200w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=990&q=60&w=1320 1320w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1080&q=60&w=1440 1440w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1170&q=60&w=1560 1560w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1260&q=60&w=1680 1680w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1350&q=60&w=1800 1800w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1440&q=60&w=1920 1920w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-Fatherresize.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1485&q=60&w=1980 1980w)
I was relatively fit. I’ve never smoked. But, like nine in 10 Australians, I was at risk.
I naively thought the worst aspect of heart disease was the prospect of having a fatal heart attack. I had no idea how debilitating it could be.
I watched my dad, who used to do the crossword in the newspaper every day, struggle to pick up a pen. He had blackouts. He could barely walk. There were sickening coughing fits. And after a quadruple bypass my Mum called me. My Dad, her best friend, was beyond exhausted. “He won’t get better. He has chronic heart failure. That’s what I’m trying to tell you Nicky.”
![Fred walking Nicole down the aisle Fred walking Nicole down the aisle](https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=132&q=60&w=120 120w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=263&q=60&w=240 240w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=395&q=60&w=360 360w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=527&q=60&w=480 480w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=658&q=60&w=600 600w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=790&q=60&w=720 720w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=922&q=60&w=840 840w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1053&q=60&w=960 960w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1185&q=60&w=1080 1080w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1317&q=60&w=1200 1200w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1448&q=60&w=1320 1320w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1580&q=60&w=1440 1440w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1712&q=60&w=1560 1560w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1843&q=60&w=1680 1680w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1975&q=60&w=1800 1800w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2106&q=60&w=1920 1920w, https://victorchang-cdn.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Nicole-Chettle-wedding-resize2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2172&q=60&w=1980 1980w)
A few months later Dad had a fall. And his sick heart couldn’t sustain him.
I held his hand, and resolved that my daughter wouldn’t ever be in the same position thinking “It didn’t have to be this way.”
I think the greatest tribute I can offer is to live the life Dad can’t. And to look after my heart. My doctor says you can’t change your genetics, but you can minimise the risk factors.
I’m grateful for the work the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute is doing to save lives. And I’m hopeful that one day, it won’t be necessary," - Nicole, Fred's daughter.
You can help families struggling with heart disease by supporting vital discoveries at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.
Acknowledgement of Country
The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.