Heart to Heart

It has been 13 months since my heart surgery. I'm feeling so much better! I have energy to do more than just do my job and rest all evening. This is extremely exciting when you have been stuck in an unwanted sedentary lifestyle for nearly two years. But, now it is my turn to give back.

When I was told "it looks like you will definitely need surgery again" it literally shattered my hope. I knew that this time it would be much more serious and recovery would be difficult and extended. I knew that it would change my life, but I didn't realize how fast and severe my body would react to the sub-aortic stenosis ( basic definition= muscle band growth abnormality just below the aortic valve causing turbulent blood flow). I was exhausted all the time, not to mention in surprising pain and immobile, at times. So, the long process of actually getting TO the surgery was trying to say the least. I remember feeling helpless, stuck, frustrated and hopeless. Those are not traits I would normally associate myself with. Which brings me to the entire point of this blog:

I have a meeting next Wednesday to hopefully become a part of "Heart to Heart" with Sacred Heart Medical Center. It is basically a mentor program for pre- and post- cardiac surgery patients. I will have the chance to encourage and hopefully make a difference in the life of someone who is caught off guard by their emotions and physical response. I wish there would have been someone there for me at that time that really understood the whirlwind. I am hoping to be that calm the storm for someone. Even one. Wish me luck.