Initial Diagnosis

Every story has a beginning... At the end of January 2009, my husband and I decided to take a cruise to celebrate my new job opportunity. While we were on the cruise, I noticed I couldn’t catch my breath when we would climb the steps onboard the ship. Other than that, we had a wonderful cruise and I have beautiful memories of the time we had together.

When I returned, I started my new job. My new co-workers were fabulous and the atmosphere was wonderful. It was extremely challenging and I was striving so hard to rise to the occasion.
My husband also got a new job opportunity, for which we had been praying for quite some time. God is so good.

I got a head cold and some ick in my chest. I thought I got over it but was still feeling terrible. When Ray and I would walk at night, I started getting winded after just a few blocks. It got worse and worse until I couldn’t walk the few blocks into my office in the morning without stopping to catch my breath. Then a pain started in my chest, which was just unbearable when I would walk. I went to the doctor and she scheduled me for a chest xray, some blood work, and a stress test (on the off-chance it was my heart).

When I went for the stress test on Monday 3/9/09, the cardiologist came in and told me I was in heart failure. A whirlwind began that moment as they told us all the dos and don’ts and what to expect with heart failure.

In the beginning, I was sure God had a plan and reason for bringing this into our lives. I knew He was trying to get our attention and to draw us to Him. I knew He wanted to use this to work His work, even though it caused so much pain.

My family and friends were so encouraging and I loved the time I got to spend with everyone. I wish it wasn’t so hard on everyone, and I pray for strength for Ray, my Mom and Dad, my beautiful sisters, brother, and friends all the time.

We went back to the Heart Failure Clinic on Tuesday 3/17/09. They told me that heart failure was considered when your heart functions less than 40%... mine was at 15%. Best case scenario would be that my heart would get back up to 30%, which was still heart failure. She said that once hearts are damaged, it is next to impossible to get them truly healthy. Therefore, she thought certain I would need a pacemaker but was also very insistent about the need for a heart transplant.

I can't express to my family, friends, and co-workers how wonderful and encouraging they have been. I have felt surrounded in love and support from the very beginning. Thank you to each of you, you have made my heart stronger.