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Tracey C 2tcollins@cox.net Orange County, California, USA age 33 married to Tim 2 Huskies and 3 cats: Nikki, Kails, Ceasar, Bailey and Baby |
I'm 33 years old and married my high school sweetheart 10 years ago. He's my absolute strength through all of this.
Looking back, I can see where I had shortness of breath when it shouldn't have been, and blamed it on my weight. One night, out of nowhere, I couldn't breathe and my pulse went out of control. We went to the ER where I was diagnosed as having the "typical female event" - an anxiety attack. I was patted on the head and sent home. Knowing that something was wrong, I took it upon myself to visit a cardiologist directly and was diagnosed with an EF of 40% and CHF. I spent the next 4 days in the hospital, terrified that I was dying.
Upon returning home, I took a month off work and tried to get adjusted to the news and my meds. I cried everyday and really don't know how my husband dealt with me as well as he did. We had to face the fact that having children was no longer an option and started to talk about adopoting when I become stable. For now we have 2 huskies and 3 cats, plenty to keep us busy.
I am so happy I found this site the first month I was home. It gave me hope and really helped me come around. I miss our trips to Hawaii and scuba diving and definitely eating out, but being able to see my husband every day and know that by taking care of myself I'll be able to see him another day really makes everything else not matter. We've saved money not eating out and I've lost 40 pounds in 3 months, with another 50 to go. My lab results came in this week and show that Coxsackie B got me. The good
news is that my EF is up to 55% as of October.
| 5mg Zestril | Twice a day |
I'm not giving up the hope of having kids. I've seen many miracles happen on this site and wish many more for all of us.
September 25, 2001 - I was taken off most of my medications, and 6 months later my latest echo shows my EF at 70%, with normal wall movement and heart size. I thank God every day for this.
August 27, 2002 - My latest MUGA shows an EF of 48%, but no heart enlargement. I've been feeling great and increasing my exercise. I remain off most of my meds since the doctor considers me stable for now.
Tracey - October 24, 2000
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