Allisoninoz
Well-known member
Well, hi everybody. I haven't been on here for a very long time. Had my Ross back in Feb 2011 and my heart had been pumping along beautifully.
Then, in January this year this year my husband and I separated. I had no idea he was unhappy (nor that he was having an affair), found out in a horrible way, and was utterly devastated. We had been together for 17 years and I did not see it coming at all.
We had counselling but he had no interest. I didn't eat or sleep for a few weeks and my friends and family were very worried about my emotional and physical state. Here's the short version of what then happened: On 28 February, my GP told me to get to an emergency dept. Luckily she did. I went into cardiac arrest and was revived on and off for about an hour. I was in a coma for a week, and then gradually emerged in an intensive care unit. I had no idea what had happened - assumed I'd been in an accident. My husband was by my bed and I had no idea we had separated - that memory came back to me over a couple of days. He wasn't interested in reconciling. I was in hospital, on the cardiac ward, for another two weeks, and the cardiologists presented me with a new diagnosis of cardiomyopathy.
I was distraught. My cardiologists believe I suffered stress cardiomyopathy as a result of the severe emotional distress. There is a condition called takotsubo, which means, literally, broken-heart syndrome. My ejection fraction was down to 5 in emergency but was 35 at discharge. It's remained about that level. I'm on a mountain of meds. I've been out of hospital for more than two months now. I'm doing cardiac rehab, and am staggered at what has happened to me, and what may lie ahead. My beautiful girl Sophie is now 12. My husband (I use the term loosely) is living away from us. I am returning to work part-time (I have worked for myself for years but can't manage on the inconsistent income). I had been doing so well after the Ross and am now so scared for the future given my serious diagnosis. My only hope is that, somehow, my heart function stays at about this level, or recovers a little more (as sometimes happens in stress-induced).
Interestingly, the echoes I had done showed the surgical repairs done as a child and the Ross were still working perfectly.
I don't want to hear any sad or bad stories about this diagnosis, but I would really appreciate any messages or encouragement out there. It's been a truly terrible four months.
Allison
Then, in January this year this year my husband and I separated. I had no idea he was unhappy (nor that he was having an affair), found out in a horrible way, and was utterly devastated. We had been together for 17 years and I did not see it coming at all.
We had counselling but he had no interest. I didn't eat or sleep for a few weeks and my friends and family were very worried about my emotional and physical state. Here's the short version of what then happened: On 28 February, my GP told me to get to an emergency dept. Luckily she did. I went into cardiac arrest and was revived on and off for about an hour. I was in a coma for a week, and then gradually emerged in an intensive care unit. I had no idea what had happened - assumed I'd been in an accident. My husband was by my bed and I had no idea we had separated - that memory came back to me over a couple of days. He wasn't interested in reconciling. I was in hospital, on the cardiac ward, for another two weeks, and the cardiologists presented me with a new diagnosis of cardiomyopathy.
I was distraught. My cardiologists believe I suffered stress cardiomyopathy as a result of the severe emotional distress. There is a condition called takotsubo, which means, literally, broken-heart syndrome. My ejection fraction was down to 5 in emergency but was 35 at discharge. It's remained about that level. I'm on a mountain of meds. I've been out of hospital for more than two months now. I'm doing cardiac rehab, and am staggered at what has happened to me, and what may lie ahead. My beautiful girl Sophie is now 12. My husband (I use the term loosely) is living away from us. I am returning to work part-time (I have worked for myself for years but can't manage on the inconsistent income). I had been doing so well after the Ross and am now so scared for the future given my serious diagnosis. My only hope is that, somehow, my heart function stays at about this level, or recovers a little more (as sometimes happens in stress-induced).
Interestingly, the echoes I had done showed the surgical repairs done as a child and the Ross were still working perfectly.
I don't want to hear any sad or bad stories about this diagnosis, but I would really appreciate any messages or encouragement out there. It's been a truly terrible four months.
Allison
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