February is American Heart Month-Is Yours Healthy?

Thursday, February 1st, 2018     by Debra DuPree Williams     Start the Conversation


by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams
February is American Heart Month. And it isn’t just about Valentine’s Day with all those roses, and boxes of candy, and hearts. But it is about your heart and the health of your heart.

I can speak to heart disease from first-hand experience. It’s one of those things that happens to other people, not to us. You know I’m right. We never think it is going to darken our door . . . until one day─it does.

Fourteen years ago, we were eagerly awaiting the birth of our first grandchild. We made the decision to travel from our home in sunny, warm west-central Florida, to dead-of-winter, snow-on-the-ground, cold, cold northern Virginia. We packed our warmest clothing, baby gifts, and loaded up the car.

Now, traveling hasn’t ever been easy on me. My ankles always swell, and food on the road just never seems to agree with me. This trip was no exception. By the time we had spent two days on the road, my ankles looked like elephant feet. The food? Not any better. I was popping Rolaids like they were candy. Thing is, that’s when they had those soft, chewy, vanilla-flavored ones. Tasted good, but they didn’t begin to touch my indigestion.

It’s a Girl–But I’m Dying!
In the hotel at night, I was up all night eating handfuls of those vanilla chews. One after another, after another. And when we arrived at the hospital for the big event, we discovered that there was a little ramp, about three feet long, leading up to the door. It was at a very slight incline, still, I was huffing and puffing every time I had to go in that door. I chalked it up to the cold weather. I couldn’t breathe.
Fast forward a couple of weeks. Our beautiful granddaughter arrived into this world with a hefty cry and a smile on her face. She was perfect. So we went back home to warm, sunny Florida.

But . . . I still had indigestion. And things that used to be easy, like walking from the boys’ side of our house to our side, were downright difficult. I had to stop and catch my breath halfway through the trip. Forget about doing laundry. Every time I bent to retrieve clothes from the dryer, I had pains shooting to the middle of my chest. What is this? My indigestion must be getting worse.

 
But It’s Just Indigestion

So, I saw my primary physician. She immediately ordered me to see a cardiologist. What? For indigestion? I have to tell you, it seemed weird, but off I went. After hearing my story, he set me up with a treadmill test which I am sure I failed miserably. But when they asked me if I was having pain in my arm or chest, I smiled and said, very breathily, I assure you, No, I’m fine. WRONG! I was hurting so much, I thought I was going to die right there. But I was terrified of even the thought of cardiac intervention. When he took me into his office after the exam, he told me I needed to go to the hospital immediately for more testing and likely a catheterization. I was in shock. Refused to go. No. Not this girl. No. Sir. No. Way.

I went home and called a friend in my church who had just had such a procedure and had done very well. She didn’t do it locally but traveled to another county to a huge health clinic. I have to back up and tell you that a friend’s husband had had a very bad experience with the group that ran my first test. I knew I couldn’t let them do anything. And my mother had almost died from a heart cath in south Alabama when I was a newly-wed. I was scared. Period. So I made an appointment for late March with the group my church friend had used.

Get Me There . . . FAST
I didn’t make it to that appointment. On Saturday night, March 21, 2004, I began having trouble breathing. I propped up on about four pillows trying to make it better. I knew, I knew, I needed to go to the hospital, but I just couldn’t get past the fear. So I waited. By Sunday afternoon around three o’clock, I was blue around my lips. I finally told my husband, “If you don’t get me there fast, I’m going to die.” Still, I refused to go to our local hospital. He drove me forty-five minutes to the big hospital in the nearby county.

They took me in and immediately put an IV in, gave me four baby aspirin, and even a Plavix. They observed me overnight and scheduled me for a heart cath on Monday afternoon. Thus, I had to do the thing I dreaded the most. But . . . it saved my life.

Thankful to God
After I had received the stent and recovered sufficiently for the doctor to talk to us, he showed us before and after x-rays. By the grace of God alone, I had a tiny little blood vessel that had formed its own bypass around the clogged artery, the main one on the front of the heart, the Left Anterior Descending, the LAD, also known as the widow-maker. It was 99.9% blocked. But I was still alive!

This month, I’m going to share some things I’ve learned about heart disease and some of my experiences. I hope you will join me here as what I have to say just may save your life or the life of someone you love. From the bottom of my now-healthy heart, I wish you well and abundant blessings.

Have you had heart issues? Tell us about your symptoms and what you did. Your words could impact someone enough to make them act.
  
Tweetable

No Comments

Comments are closed.