For almost 6 years, I worked as a retail store manager. In April of 1997, I was put on medical disability due to my declining heart condition.
My problems all started when I was an 18 year old freshman in college. Also, the 3 flights of stairs to my dorm room were causing me to nearly pass out by the time that I climbed to the top. My roommate took me to the campus infirmary twice. However, because I had also developed a non-productive cough, both times I was given cough syrup and sent on my way.
After fainting in one of my classes, I was sent to my hometown for tests. Finally, after once again complaining on the phone to my mother about how awful that I felt, my mother contacted my brother, David, who was also a student at the same college where I was attending. He took me to a doctor in a nearby town. That doctor performed an EKG on me. My brother drove me to the hospital 4 hours away in our hometown. Immediately, doctors, nurses, and other hospital personnel were surrounding me. I found out that I was experiencing Congestive Heart Failure. If only 24 more hours had elapsed, I would have been dead. A truly sobering thought.
After losing 10 pounds of fluid overnight, from all of the Lasix, a strong diuretic, that was pumped into my body, my muscles drew up into unfathomable cramping pain. Eventually, 3 days had passed and I was sent home.
Two years later, I experienced a very rapid heart rate called tachycardia. I was put on Lanoxin (digoxin). This drug, I was told, was to increase my heart muscle function and to keep my heart beating at a normal rate.
For the next 3 1/2 years, I lived a normal life. Because I had been on Lanoxin for 3 1/2 years, my OB/GYN sent me to see a cardiologist as a precautionary measure. My cardiologist performed several tests on me. Next, he asked to speak to Jimmy and me in his office. The doctor told me that if I remained pregnant, most likely I would die and my unborn baby would die. I had Cardiomyopathy, a degenerative disease of the heart muscle. Jimmy and I were completely devastated. I was sent to a cardiologist at UAB (University of Alabama in Birmingham) for a second opinion. Unfortunately, the second opinion confirmed the first. There was almost no chance that I or my unborn baby would survive the pregnancy. The sorrow of the decision to end my pregnancy because of my deteriorating health is inexplicable. While I was pregnant, my ejection fraction, the force at which the heart pumps blood throughout the body, was 23%. A normal person’s is typically greater than 60%.
Four months later, I wound up back in the hospital. Once again, I was suffering from congestive heart failure. Obviously, my heart was permanently damaged. After 3 days, I was sent home. For the next 5 years, I continued to work full time. My job was very stressful. I made many more trips to my doctor at UAB. I underwent many more tests. I landed in the hospital several more times.
Finally, my heart couldn’t take it anymore. I was put on medical disability from my job in April of 1997. A month later I was evaluated for a heart transplant. I was not put on “the list” at that time. My life at that point was in limbo. This drug helped my heart rate drop from approximately 115bpm, beats per minute, to 75bpm. In August of 1998, I was once again evaluated for a heart transplant. After 4 days of tests, my doctor listed me for a heart transplant.
On October 30, 1998, I was called as a back-up for a heart at UAB. I was excited, nervous, and scared. Several preliminary tests were performed on me. I look perfectly normal. However, most days I feel exhausted from the time that I wake up in the morning until the time that I go to sleep at night. Also, I have to deal with insomnia, nausea, dizziness, and other symptoms from time to time. Thank you to Jimmy, Mom, my family, and my friends for your much needed caring, love, and support.
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