That is a Heart Attack survivor…

First of all, I want to say that God is good.  He has a foreknowledge and a reason for everything.  He puts in your path the right people at the right time to care for you, your family, etc.  I do not know what we would have done w/out our church family and Sunday School class these past few weeks.  I am just praying that He will show me how He wants me to use this experience to glorify Him and help others.

And I am very thankful for wonderful clients!  I have several large orders, many delivered from the lab while I was in the hospital.  All prepaid.  My clients?  ”Our portraits can wait.  You take care of yourself and get well!  We can come get them when you are fully back on your feet. Do you need anything?  Can we bring a meal?  Is it OK to put your name on our Sunday School/Church prayer list?”  And you know what, my husband’s clients, vendors and home office were the exact same way.  ”What can we do and how can we pray for you.”

A few weeks ago, August 13th, I had what is called a mild heart attack (if there is such a thing).  I think what they mean is, it was not life threatening at the time, but still needed full treatment.  To have gone w/out any treatment would have damaged my heart and change quality of life, future health and set me up for a major heart attack down the road….

You see, I had 2 tiny pieces of plaque, that broke off from somewhere in my body, lodge in a very tiny artery in my heart.  And it was blocking the blood flow.  That particular artery was so narrow that they could not get the stint in there to pull out the blockage.  (At the time, I was watching all of this on a monitor screen in the Cath Lab as it is happening….)  The blockage, though small, had to be dissolved.  All the drips and medications left me in CVICU for 4-5 days!  Then I went into a step down room for a few more days. (9 days in the hospital.)  The weird thing is, my arteries are as  clean as a whistle!  The cardiologist told my husband that the heart attack was like a “Fluke”.

My Symptoms leading up to the Heart Attack…

Hind site being 20/20 I can see signs that have been going on for weeks, maybe a few months that lead up to my heart attack.  And, as with most women, I did not get that massive pain in the left side of my chest, and pass out.

So what were my symptoms?

• For several months I have been feeling winded and a bit short of breath.  Several months ago my migraine meds were changed, I gained a few pounds right after starting the new meds and that is what I thought was causing me to be easily winded.
• My legs would feel ‘restless’.  I never have that, but for almost a month before the heart attack, my legs would be ‘restless’.
• Swelling!  I never have swollen feet.  2-3 weeks before my heart attack, my feet and fingers were swelling.  I also wondered if it was ‘weight gain’.
• For a couple of years now, I might have very low blood pressure upon waking up in the morning, and especially if I had not had that first cup of coffee.  But during the day, I could feel it just rise over anything.  Not good.
• Stomach and chest discomfort.  Yes, sharp and sometimes gassy pain in the right side of my stomach that radiated to my chest.  You are saying gallbladder… well that was removed 5 years ago, so I do not have one.  But yes, that was very much what it felt like.  The discomfort was going on for weeks.
• Two days before my “Heart Attack” that discomfort took my breath away for 2 hours!  The pain was all in my torso.  (All this time I was planning on calling the Dr’s office to make an appointment after school starts.  Moms always think that way…)
• On Sat. the 13, the pain in my torso came on suddenly and was also deep in the left part of my chest.
• I also had a weird feeling in the sides of my neck.  Not sure if that has anything to do with symptoms or not.

What we should have done…

…was call 911, but my husband put me in the car and raced to St. Vincent’s Hospital.  Here is where I have to brag on the ER team.  They had a wheelchair out in the lobby and rolling me back to ER immediately!  The Dr. and ER nurses started working on me right away.  Every few minutes I would hear one of the nurses say “Time?”  Another would say, “18 minutes.”  Another would say, “Are we going to break our record?”  The Dr. is asking me questions in a rapid fire manor.  They were working fast.  I really thought I was having some sort of angina, and after a few minutes I said, “Wait a minute, am I having a heart attack?”  ”Yes ma’am.  And we have to get you ready for the Cath Lab.”.  Another nurse said, “We are saving your life!”  By then my husband was in the room.  They made our daughter wait in the lobby, but then someone told my husband, “We have a social worker with your daughter.  She is bringing her in here.  She needs to see her mother before we take her back.”  My husband asked, “What do I tell her?”  The nurse answered, “The truth.”

My sweet girl was doing her best to be calm and cool, but she said that she was ‘freaking out’ on the inside.  She had her i Touch with her and access to wi fi.  Immediately she went to her Facebook page and typed in, “plz pray for my mom, she is having a heart attack and we are at the hospital”.  Our church’s Minister to Youth Girls said it went viral.

In just a few minutes, I had an EKG, blood drawn, IV put in, temp, x-ray, one or two shots, vitals taken, clothes changed to a hospital gown, family pray over me.  I am sure other things were done, but they were working so fast, I can’t remember it all.  And you know what, they were all very sweet, kind, considerate and nice.  When I was fully prepped, that team of nurses were running down the hall w/me in my gurney to the Cath Lab.  When they delivered me, I heard one of them say, “Time?”  Another said “35 minutes.  Best time yet!”  Let me tell you, when you are having a Heart Attack, that is the kind of ER team you want working on you.

When I was delivered to the Cath Lab, Dr. Thomas Nielson, of Southview Medical Group, and his team were there waiting on me all ready to go.  Again, more rapid fire questions and I still could not believe I was having a heart attack.  From there my mind becomes muddy for any details.  I remember when Dr. Nielson said he could not pull out the blockage, I was really thankful that by pass/open heart surgery was not needed.

You know, in the following week, while in the hospital, I heard so many stories.  Nurses who work in Cardiac because they lost their mother at age 8, to a heart attack.  Their mother was only in her thirties.  No symptoms, etc.  There were so many stories so similar to that.  According to the American Heart Association, heart attacks are the number one killer of women. And it is silent. Young women who lead healthy lifestyles!  And many who do not have healthy lifestyles.

Lifestyle…

I will discuss this in the next post.  I really did not intend to write an epic.

I love comments.  If you have a similar story, please feel free to post.  I know that God has a reason for everything.  If you are a woman and experienced something similar, I want you to post your symptoms and how your heart attack has effected you.