October 17, 2020
I have been struggling with weight gain and hormones since having my third and fourth child at 40 and 42. But that was three years ago. I was finding my groove again. Working out. Eating well. A busy mom of four, enjoying my career and family.
August 18, 2020 I was tired. I still went to work out and during the second half of the work out, 30 mins of yoga I felt a burning in my chest. Like someone had set my bra on fire. Indigestion? Did I push too much? By the time I got to my car and started driving home but called my older kids and husband. “I think I’m having a heart attack” I said. I met them at a parking lot close to home and within the hour I was in the hospital.
During an angiogram it became clear that a more serious intervention to save my heart, to save me was necessary. I was otherwise healthy. No existing conditions or concerns. But now I had a SCAD on my LAD and some heart damage was evident. Very quickly the decision to perform a bypass was made and I woke up the next day in the CICU and was alive. A week in the hospital, I was home the following week recovering well.
Adjusting to meds has been the hardest part of this journey and one extra night to be diagnosed with pericarditis, has been a part of what I can only describe as a surreal experience. And yet I’m happy. I’m alive. And I’m here. I’m still recovering and the best advice I have received from fellow survivors is one step and one day at a time.