Update Continued...

Hello Friends!!

It's been a little while but it has been quite a month.  Following the first update post I posted about about a month ago, I will continue with what has been going on...

The following morning, Thursday, October 4th, I woke up as usual.  My husband went to work and I was spending the morning with my son before he went to school that afternoon.  I was excited because I had just bought a ticket to go see one of my favorite actresses at her book signing for that evening.

I was talking to my sister-in-law, as I do most mornings when we have our "coffee chat".  I was telling her I was feeling dizzy.  I laid down and put my feet up as I was told to always do when suffering from a dizzy spell.  Once I started feeling better, she asked me if I had eaten anything yet today.  I told her no, so I went to the kitchen and grabbed a breakfast bar from my pantry.

I then went upstairs to go to the bathroom and I felt dizzy again.  The next thing I know, I woke up on my bathroom floor with my four year old screaming on the top of his lungs.  My sister-in-law heard everything on the other line so she immediately hung up and dialed 911.  Not remembering, once I woke up I immediately called 911 too.  I had never been so scared in my life and as a mom, I took it really hard knowing what my son had just witnessed. 

The next thing I know, my sister-in-law is flying through my door and at the same time the paramedics showed up.  A few minutes later, my mother-in-law showed up.  They took me in the ambulance to Northwest Community Hospital and ran some tests.  Once I got to the hospital, they saw that there was a six seconds pause in my heart rhythm.  Being a heart transplant recipient they were very concerned.  NCH is not a specialty hospital so they decided to transfer me to Loyola Medical Center.  LMC is where my Cardiology team is so I felt happy to go there, because I know that they would know my history and know what the next steps were to take.

After waiting hours and hours at NCH including moving to ICU, I finally transferred to LMC at around 3:00am on Friday morning.  Once I got to LMC and was sent to a room in their ICU, the team of doctors came in later that morning to make their rounds.  They wanted to put a pacemaker in me because of the pause in my heart rhythm.  At first, I didn't take it very well.  I have had this heart for 20 years with no issues and then all of a sudden this?!  I was in disbelief.  I demanded I speak to my actual Cardiologist before making any decisions.

My doctor came in later that day and pretty much scared me.  He basically said that what happened to me could happen again without the pacemaker and next time it could be a different outcome and I may not wake up.  After talking to him, my parents, my husband and my best friend, I made the decision to get the pacemaker.  My doctor made a few phone calls and they let me get my pacemaker Friday evening, so I didn't have to stay in the hospital the whole weekend and get it done on Monday.

After getting an echo and an angiogram, I know my heart is healthy with the exception of my tricuspid valve regurgitating, which has been for years.  They have kept an eye on it and have told me that one day, I will probably need to have valve replacement surgery.  I was released from the hospital the next day.

I want to thank everyone again for the continued thoughts and prayers.  They are very much appreciated, as always.

Much Love,
KJA