Member Profiles

JAKE

I never thought that Congestive Heart Failure could hit someone so fast. I am a 32 year old male who has never really been sick in my life. The only thing that has ever happened to me has been Sinus Congestion. I was Working in a nursing home taking care of the elderly and sick. I loved my job and it made my day to see them smile and taken really good care of. It was my life at about 16 hours a day. The only thing that was going on was: I was at the hospital about a month before the incident. They were treating me for Asthma. after about a month of that I was at work having trouble breathing, I took the medicine they had given me. For about 8 hours I was still Having trouble breathing, and chest was getting tighter and tighter. It started at about 10:00 that evening, and at 5:30 in the morning I just couldn't take it anymore and asked the D.O.N. take me to the emergency room for some help. When I got to the hospital they were working on me, and all I could do was gripe at them to give me a breathing treatment and send me back to work. The emergency Physician on duty told me-- DO YOU THINK THAT YOU MIGHT BE HAVING A HEART ATTACK. At that time I just shut my mouth and let them do their job!!! I would never in A million years think I would have Heart problems just out of the blue like that. I spent 1 week in the hospital at which time the did a heart cath, the doctor thought that I had a clogged artery, or something like that. After the heart cath. she told me that my heart was enlarged and very weak. She got me under control and sent me to Dallas Cardiology Hospital. After a stress test he put me back into the hospital and put in an ICD which is a pacemaker and a defibrillator in my chest cause my heart was speeding up and slowing down to nearly stopping. I now have most of the heart function under control, but I am Disabled and can't work drawing social security. I have just about lost everything I own and going through a deep depression. I was a workaholic and now I can't walk 3 blocks without ! totally wearing myself out and have to take a nap and all the medications that I have to take. BUT I'M ALIVE AND TRYING TO COPE WITH WHAT I HAVE LEFT!!!!!!!!



Back

Join JAKE and the rest of us in the Heart Disease Forum: