Life is Why! Join me in supporting the American Heart Association!
For those of you who may know or may not know, as of June 24, 2005 I had a stroke, and this year I will celebrate my 20-year anniversary of my Stroke Survival. I have always considered myself to be amazingly lucky that not only (a) I survived a stroke, but also (b) had minimal to NO residual side effects from the stroke and (c) I have been able to use my experience to become more involved in the American Heart Associations’ work with heart disease. For this I am asking you to please take a few minutes to read a brief description of my experience, and if possible, to please make a small donation to help me in my fight against heart disease. After all we all know a friend/family/loved one who has been affected in one way or another by heart disease. If you are wondering what the picture is of, it is the device that they implanted in my heart after finding the reason for why I had the stroke.
At the age of 27 I was rushed to the local emergency room with warning signs of blurred vision, that turned to lack of vision, staggering to the left side when I was walking, slurring when I spoke, replying to questions that were not even the questions that were asked of me. After a short trip to the ER and a CAT scan the physician that saw me determined I had a migraine, pumped me full of Ativan and sent me on my way home stating it was a migraine/anxiety related. The next day I had to follow up with a local neurologist who spent the morning agreeing with what the physician stated UNTIL he performed the MRI and noticed 4 lesions on my brain. Then the big WHOOOPPPS came into play and the thought that perhaps it was not a migraine at all. After that point I spent the next three months in and out of hospitals, specialists and had an entire binder of tests performed, all indicating that the episode most likely was stroke related, however there were other items to be ruled out such as MS, Lyme disease, etc.
During this time frame I became completely obsessed with research on the internet, I joined chat rooms for all the possible diagnosis that were even mentioned to me. I talked to thousands of people, read hundreds of medical articles, etc determined to find the answer to my million-dollar question “what happened to me on June 24th?”
After three months of nonstop testing and not being closer to an answer than I was on June 25th I decided to pursue contacting the BEST neurological hospital in the US, which was the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minn. I sent in my entire binder of all the doctors notes, ER notes, at least 35 test reports, all my blood work, etc all organized with tabs labeling each test, date, etc and I waited what seemed like an eternity to hear weather I was granted an appointment. To make a long story short I got a rejection letter in late September. I was not accepting that as my answer. I wrote back directly to the doctor who denied my appointment, sent the same binder and this time I played the wild card I never like to play, I was a 27 year old single mother who needed to understand what happened to me on that night so I can be prepared for any future episodes and know how to handle them. At that point I was willing to stoop to any level to get my questions answered. Well early October I got a personal phone call from that physician in Neurology who personally apologized at my inability to get an appointment, and he told me he would like to offer me an appointment for October 31st but plan on purchasing an open-ended ticket as they have no idea how long I would be there for.
So that day, I made arrangements, and on the day before Halloween I flew to Minnesota with all my MRI’s, CT scans, test results, etc. I was excited yet nervous at the same time. months of wanting an answer and finally someone was interested in helping me. My first day there was amazing, the neurologist handed me a 12-page itinerary with all my appointments listed day by day for the next two weeks for evaluations and testing. I was utterly floored. I was there for 3 weeks and total and I flew home the day after having cardiac surgery to close a hole in my heart that after all this they found in Boston during my initial testing (picture of the device inserted into my heart is included as my picture on the website). I was told by a chief cardiologist in Boston that the hole was not big enough and that it did not warrant surgery. I disagreed with him, and I wanted it closed. If it happened once it could happen again and this time, I could be on the road driving with kids in my vehicle. I did not accept that answer and kept fighting until I found a cardiologist who agreed with me. I had the surgery on November 11th and I flew home after some major setbacks post-operatively on November 12th.
Since leaving the Mayo I have been a huge advocate for the American Heart Association. I have been a team captain for most years, but if not, I am a registered participant for our walk in Boston, MA to help raise funds for this cause I believe so greatly in. The AHA does amazing things with the money that is raised.
For example, consider this: ONE out of every FOUR individuals have a hole in their heart as part of a birth defect. That is 25% of the population and they have NO idea they have this issue. Of course, it takes more than just having the hole in your heart you must have the other factors also, like a blood clot that dislodges, and travels to your brain; however simply having the hole in your heart the first step. A step that can be detected for individuals to be aware that they need to be more aware of the warning signs of stroke, to be able to better educate these individuals.
I am asking you as one of those possible 25% to please if possible, make a small donation to this cause. This could hit closer to home for you or a loved one someday and I am asking from the bottom of my hole-less heart to please spare a small donation to help make this one disease that much more preventable. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my story and make any donation of which you can afford to give, every single dollar counts.
Thanks for Reading, a truly blessed Survivor
Thank you in advance for your support!
