Drop Dead Gorgeous! A Heart Disease Survivor Story

Tracey Conway is “drop dead funny.” Literally. Doubt it? You won’t after hearing about the night this young woman’s heart stopped beating and she collapsed on the set of her television sketch-comedy show from sudden-death cardiac arrest. Talk about a scene stealer! Conway’s presentation inspires both belly laughs and tears as she relates the circumstances and details of her deadly cardiac event and subsequent recovery at age 38. Bringing a lifetime of performing experience to her dynamic presentations, she combines humor and education with the poignant observations of a young woman who has experienced clinical death first-hand, and “returned” to amuse and inspire. Conway is passionate, funny, entertaining – and above all, memorable. Let her tell-it-like-it-is, best-pal style give your audience their wake-up call! This keynote is devoted to galvanizing audiences to reassess their life and health priorities.

Drop Dead Gorgeous! Program Highlights:

• Helpful hints to avoid dropping dead • Times it’s okay to be seen topless by strangers • Why “Me, first!” is generous, not selfish • True or False: Sometimes we are smarter than our doctors • The Heart Pledge of Allegiance

"Lights!...Camera!...SUCtion!!" A Crash-Cart Course in "Me Doctor, You Patient" Skills

Let's get real here: do laypeople have any business offering advice about improving the doctor-patient relationship? HeL-LO?! We're talking about physicians: extraordinarily intelligent professionals. On a daily basis they are tasked with taking control, juggling and delegating multiple tasks and frequently making life-and-death decisions . Surgeons, in particular, have to have healthy egos to even think about plunging a knife into someone and opening them up. As patients, we trust them to do that.

So who is Tracey Conway, to think she has anything to teach them they don't already know? Certainly, she doesn't have their years of education and experience in medicine. Who is she to advise them on bedside-manners and on-going relationship with patients skills? No one. BUT! (This is a big but!) Tracey is a very experienced Sudden Cardiac Arrest survivor on her fourth implanted ICD device and an even more experienced and trained sketch-comedy writer and Emmy winning actor. Experiential learning - actively participating in safe patient-physician interactions - is by far the most effective method for knowledge retention and frankly, the most fun and entertaining to everyone in the room. These are 'safe' interactions, because the healthcare professional participants are teaching each other through 'live-in-studio' examples, with appropriate facilitation. Humor is the lubricant, actions and dialogue offer the life lessons. This isn't touchy-feely, Kumbayah stuff. This is Saturday Night Live! on surgical steroids.

After all, their workplace is called the Operating Theatre. This is an opportunity to give the performance of their life, but with training wheels on. Hugh Laurie, watch out; there's a new Dr. House in the house! Ideal audiences: physicians, physician-assistants, nurses and healthcare professionals related to working with patients with chronic or acute health conditions.

Dead: Been There, Done That! Down But Not Out – Making Drastic Change Work For You

We’ve all said it at some point: “I’m dead tired.” “My feet are killing me.” “I died of embarrassment.” There are over forty definitions in the dictionary for “dead” while “alive” earns only nine! Hmmm. Apparently, we have death on our minds a lot! Sudden Death, however, doesn’t have to be the end of our stories, nor the worst thing that ever happens to us. Having been clinically dead for over 15 minutes from the fatal heart arrhythmia Ventricular Fibrillation, Tracey Conway has plenty of experience with abrupt change and, literally, shocking turn-arounds. Surprisingly, it was what happened after she died that most deeply affected her life and the lives of those around her. According to Conway, “If you asked me which was more difficult: my sudden death cardiac arrest or losing my job, I’d have to say losing my job! Fortunately, due to that temporary absence, I learned some crucial lessons about what’s truly important.” This keynote presentation outlines methods to embrace rather resist inevitable change – even shocking change – and learn to ride the roller-coaster of life so even the scariest dips have you clamoring to get back on for another go-round. Ideal audiences: professionals experiencing potential down-sizing, staff at risk of burn-out, or anyone on the verge of career change or a major workplace transition.

Testimonials

"Tracey Conway knows how to deliver ... laughs, warmth, heart health education and a message that connects with mission. Our first-time MercyStrong event was as close to perfect as it gets. Tracey was the centerpiece of the evening and expertly led our guests to a successful "ask." Proceeds doubled that of previous events and friendships grew stronger. She definitely ranks high on our short list of excellent guest celebrities!" Vicki Schorse, MBA, CFRE Executive Director Mercy Health Foundation

"Tracey was our keynote speaker for our 6th annual Go Red For Women Luncheon in Nashville, TN. This is a luncheon designed to attract leading women in the community to support, and to learn more about the issue of women and heart disease, currently, the No. 1 killer of women in America. Tracey was an inspiration - our guests laughed, they cried, and most importantly, they got it - the message that we had asked Tracey to deliver- women have to start taking action now to better care for their hearts. It is without hesitation that I would recommend Tracey as a funny, entertaining, and educational speaker!" Lisa Spelta Senior Go Red For Women Director The American Heart Association