Little did I know when I wrote my last blog in December of 2022 how quickly my life would change. Spirit knew and prompted me to close a week before everything changed for me. My diagnosis on January 6, 2022 was heart failure.
I initially went to the doctor after experiencing symptoms of bloating and shortness of breath since around mid November. I thought it was menopausal symptoms and being overweight at first. Then, when the symptoms persisted, I assumed that my hiatal hernia had gotten bigger. That was the reason I finally scheduled an appointment with my primary care doctor. She ran a bunch of tests to rule out the big stuff, heart and lungs. I had an EKG, a chest x-ray and a bunch of blood tests.
I received a call from the doctor's office later that morning that they wanted me to come in for an emergency CT scan. My blood work tested high for what could be a blood clot so they were thinking I may potentially have one in my lungs. If you don't know, this is what killed my grandmother many years ago. Holy anxiety batman! I called my daughter and she picked me up from work to take me. (My husband spoiled me and drove me to work and picked me up in the winter months so I didn't have my car.)
CT was completed and they made me wait in the lobby for a call from my doctor before I could leave. The phone call came after what felt like forever and yet this was only the beginning of what would be a living nightmare for many months. She told me the good news first which was that they didn't find a clot in my lungs. The bad news was that I had an enlarged heart. Have you ever seen the Spongebob episode on fine dining? He inputs all this information in his brain about fine dining and when he's asked his name, he searches his brain but can't find the file with his name on it. That's what getting that news felt like emotionally. I didn't know what to say or what emotion I was supposed to have. Everything just went blank...and then the panic and tears came.
My doctor was checking with the cardiologist on call who would later become my primary cardiologist. She was checking to see if I needed to be admitted to the hospital or not. All I remember saying was that I wanted to go home. She said I could go home since I lived within 10 minutes of the hospital and could return quickly if needed. Once home, the heaviness of my situation really hit. I had no idea what this meant or what was going to happen to me and I was absolutely dreading telling my husband when he got home from work.
The doctor did call me back and I didn't need to be hospitalized but I had to start on a lasix (didn't even know what that was at the time) right away. It's a water pill to reduce excess water in the body that an enlarged/weak heart can't pump out on its own. I was also told I would get a call from the cardiologist's office to be scheduled early the following week (it was a Friday when all this happened.) I got the call and was scheduled for Tuesday, January 10th.
Heart failure. Deafening. Worse yet, congestive heart failure. A death sentence. That's what it felt like when it was said to me. That was my diagnosis, acute systolic congestive heart failure. It seems like so long ago. Things have progressed so rapidly since then.
There are multiple posts about this diagnosis and my process throughout. If you want to know everything, make sure you read them. At this point, I am on my own healing journey and my business will remain closed until at least 2024. Self care is extremely important and that's where life is at for me right now. I do have some people on a waitlist for when I do return and I'm sure I'll be posting updates as the time gets closer. Until then, love yourself first!!
~Sandy~
