This year I walk after having an unexpected STEMI at 37. On 7/29/26 I had 100% occlusion of my LAD aka the "widow maker". It started with vague symptoms of feeling like I had pills stuck in my chest, moments later it felt like someone grabbed my spine between my shoulder blades and then a few moments later sweat was dripping down my face while I was in AC. That was when I knew something was wrong and called 911. Normally I would ignore chest pain or palpitations because I've had POTS since I was 7, but this was entirely different. Initially when EMT arrived they thought due to my age and being a woman that I was just having a panic attack and said I could stay home or get evaluated. Thankfully I had enough sense to get evaluated because I had a second attack in the ambulance and it completely showed how wrong they were on the EKG. Thanks to quick action by ER I got to Cath lab quick enough to have a stent placed. Post STEMI has not been the easy recovery that Cardiology made it seem and my symptoms being dismissed would crush a patient who hasn't already been gaslighted for years and built the resilience to withstand it. I walk for awareness.