Debi Davis debidaviscli@hotmail.com Married to Mike age 47 5 children

Before CHF

I've been married to Mike for over 20 years. I work for lawyers as a legal investigator and live in southwest Georgia. Mike and I raised our 5 children while we were young, in hopes of traveling around and doing lots of stuff together after the kids were grown, but before we were too old to enjoy!

My CHF

Well, on January 1, 1999, just as our youngest and last child was getting ready to leave the nest, my husband and I were both sick with the flu. I kept getting weaker and weaker; this had been going on for a week, since right after Christmas. It got so that I couldn't go from the bed to the kitchen without lying on the floor to rest.
     My husband, even though he was sick too, dragged me to a hospital clinic where they said I had walking pneumonia. They took no chest x-ray but prescribed meds. I got worse the next day so he took me to the another hospital ER where they said I had bronchitis and gave me different meds. We went home and the next day I'm lying on the floor again and thought I was dying. My husband took me back to the hospital. A pulmonary specialist from Missouri, who works in the Georgia ER while visiting his family over Christmas, ran a test that showed my EF to be less than 10%.
     I was transferred to a different hospital, where they did a balloon pump. I was then sent up to Emory in Atlanta. I accepted their hospitality for the next 67 days. It took the infectious disease lab awhile to figure out that it was a virus that had attacked my heart. They hooked me up to a Bi-VAD machine and put me on the heart transplant list, telling my husband that my heart would never heal itself.
     We are strong Christians and had many many people praying, and the Lord heard. I am the first person in Georgia to come off the machine without a transplant. Three TV stations interviewed me and my doctor. I told them it was a miracle of God; the doctor told them it was amazing. As sometimes results from viral myocarditis, I now have developed CHF. I also have undifferentiated connective tissue disease, thyroid disease (underactive), and sleep apnea.

My Meds

Coping

Before, I was very active, playing softball and sliding into bases, antiqueing and junking, and running after grandkids. Now I have to pace myself. Some days are good and some days it's a major deal to make the bed. Thank the good Lord our kids are grown! I do lots of crafts working with wood, beads, wire and faux painting techniques. I live way out in the country with my husband and 3 chihuahuas named Carmen, Bailey, and Duke.
     I am still working but not like it used to. I get the job done, only more slowly. My employers are very understanding. Now my EF is at 49%.

Debi - February 19, 2002

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