Go Red with Dawn.

April 22, 2008

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to spend my day with a group from Washington D.C. who were in Denver for a site visit for the upcoming Democratic Convention.  They were kind enough to invite me to join them for lunch with our Congressman Ed Perlemutter. 

You can bet that I will follow up in the future when any heart related issues are being voted on. I’ve met him in the past at fundraisers but I’ve never been fortunate enough to sit across the table from him and listen to his thoughts on the state of our country.  I’m lucky enough to have such different experiences from one day to the next. 

Today I went back into my housewife and mom from the suburbs routine. I’m really appreciating even the simplest things in life these days. It’s amazing what a Cardiac Arrest will do for your out look on life

April 18, 2008

It’s been a strange couple of days.  I’m a bit nervous as my energy level is out of whack.  Some days I feel like I could run a marathon and then I’ll wake up the next day and I’ll feel like I can’t get out of bed.  Part of me feels like on the days that my energy level is up that I might be doing too much.  I’m spending most of my energy in my garden.  I’m beyond excited with the fabulous weather that we are having in Colorado.  I’ve already been to the nursery 4 times in the last two weeks.  The walkway to my house is lined with tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and tons of pansies.  I’m also preparing the soil in my vegetable garden for the day that I can start seeding.  Unfortunately that won’t be until after Mothers Day.  

I’m really looking forward to Mother’s Day this year as a couple of times in the beginning of the year it was questionable as to wheather I would even be around to celebrate it this year.  I also think that it will be a great day for my son as he knows how fortunate he is to have a mother.  I can’t think of a better gift to give your children than to have your heart checked out. 

April 8, 2008

I’m feeling incredibly fortunate as I’m having more and more good days.  My exercise tolerance is quite high.  I’m walking at least 5 days a week as well as doing my strength exercises and twice a week yoga sessions (on my TV with a fabulous yoga DVD).  I still have that fear that comes from having experienced a cardiac arrest that I’ll get in a bad situation and not be able to control my heart rate, but I’m not going to let fear rule my life. 

I’m even helping two friends get started on their exercise  and diet programs.  Exercising for me is so great for my peace of mind.  No matter how poorly I’m feeling a good walk will always put me in a better state of mind. 

There is a half marathon in Denver the day after out Heart Walk in June and I’m seriously considering entering it.  I’ll keep you posted.

March 22, 2008

February 27, 2008

I’m looking forward to February ending as Heart Month has a whole new meaning to me. I’ve spent most of the month either in the hospital or at home recovering from problems with my heart. The good news is that the heart ablation was a success and I was able to go home the next day on Valentines Day. I was also fortunate to go home for two days before the ablation to celebrate David’s 15th birthday. I am also fortunate to have such wonderful friends who bring dinners to my family, drive David to school and take me to my appointments when I can’t drive.  

I think the hardest part about having set backs like I’ve had this month is missing out on the things that I take for granted in my role as a wife and mom. I missed taking David to get his Learners permit.  Thank God for friends like my friend Laurel Raines who gave up over two hours of her day to make sure that he got it and he did.  She suggested that maybe it wasn’t in the best interest of my health to be driving around with a 15 year old. 

Cardiac Rehab is temporarily on hold as I’ve had a minor set back that is literally a major pain.  My friend Yanita Rowan, a former nurse, who happened to call as I was doubled over in pain rushed over to my house and took me to the ER. 

Good news! It wasn’t my heart. The bad news: I have kidney stones…3 of them.  

Is it 2009 yet?????? It’s been a loooooooooong month, but it is going to be a great year!!!!!

February 25, 2008
I guess you can say that I’m returning from yet another detour from normalcy….

I never did get to the Caucus on February 5th as I was sent to the hospital by my cardiologist as my HRH had been about 150 bpm on and off (mostly on) for about 24 hours. In the next hour, I made choices that were probably not the smartest ones that I’ve ever made in my life especially considering how I was feeling. 

First, I drove myself to the hospital very much against my Doctors wishes and then I stopped at the grocery store to buy snacks as it was my son, David’s “Snack Week” in his advisory group at school.  I knew that I would be in the hospital at least 2 days in order to make sure that I did not have any bad reactions to a new drug that was being prescribed to regulate my heart rate.  Unfortunately I did have a very negative reaction to the medicine after my third dose. I went into V-Tach and later I was told that my heart rate went to between 250 and 300 bpm.  

Code Blue has a whole new meaning to me as that is what happens when your heart does what my did. It came on really suddenly and I am so thankful that I was in an ICU and even more grateful that the staff at Porter Hospital was so quick to react and worked as a team to save my life.  My friend Alix was visiting me when all of this went down and my husband Randy was in the hospital when he heard Code Blue room 2216. 2216 was my room.

One of the last things that I remember was telling Alix that I was feeling really bad and I felt like I was passing out. I can’t remember much more except that it seemed like there were about 10 people around my bed and everybody knew what they were supposed to be doing and was doing it.  Obviously they did it well and I’m here to write about it.  The next few days were spent getting the drugs that didn’t agree with my system out of my body while keeping my heart rate stabilized and recovering from whatever 200 joules of electricity does to your system.  What was supposed to be a 2 day stay turned into 6 very long days. 

Although I hated being in the hospital I am really grateful for the care that I received while I was a patient. I had the most incredible nurses taking care of me and as always my cardiologist, Dr. Roger Damle and Dr. Arthur Levene amaze me with not only their skills and knowledge but also with the patience that they have in dealing with me as a patient.  This weekend, I’ll write more about finally being released from the hospital, celebrating David’s birthday, returning back to the hospital to have the Cardiac Ablation and getting started working out again. 

Have a great rest of your week!!!! 

February 19, 2008 
As this year got underway, I had to reflect back to the beginning of the year 1988, as this is the 20th anniversary of my frist open heart surgery. At the start of 1988, I had great plans for my future, one that did not include a detour from reality – when I was diagnosed with a faulty mitral valve. The last place in the world that I believed I would be spending my summer and early fall, would be in the hospital, fighting for my life and recovering from open heart surgery. But that’s where I was and more importantly, as I look back, I must admit that out of what could have been the worst experience of my life – turned out to be the beginning of a lifetime of great things to come.

This year, I celebrate not only 20 years of my “second” life but also a great life that includes an incredible family: a husband, Randy and a son, David, who supports me 100%; and great friends and days filled with new adventures.

As I reflect back to the beginning of the 2008 year, I started off in Montana cross-country skiing with friends and family. I was in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival with a group of girlfriends. I can’t wait to share those pictures with you! Then I came home and was booked for two modeling jobs. I’ve sinve found out that there is a market out there for a 45 year old women, scars and all What has also been exciting for me, is that I got to photograph Barak Obama as he campaigned through Denver….

My point is that my life is fuller and richer than I ever imagined it would be looking back at the start of 1988. I continue to walk and exercise daily, eat well, except for my weakness for sweets. I volunteer for David’s school and at the American Heart Association.

I truly look forward tohearing from you and finding out how your lives have changed as a result of being diagnosed with heart disease or knowing someone who has been affected by heart disease.

Have a great evening and good night.

February 15, 2008
Wow, this past week has been a roller coaster!!!!  I have been in the hospital for irregular rhythms. And I had heart ablation therapy. I can go on and on about heart ablation, so I thought a link would be more useful: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4682 

I am so grateful that I am now home with my husband and son. It is so nice to be in your own bed and in the comfort of your own home. I just want to say ”thanks” to my dear family and friends for all their help and coming over to take care of me. All of you, mean the world to me.  

I will do some blogging this weekend because do want to share with you my experience. Right now, I leave you with this and have a great evening.

 February 4, 2008
Today, I’m committed to staying home and getting taxes, insurance paper work and files in order. After I drop David off at school, I’m going to work out and go for a walk. Things that I hate doing like going to the grocery store and laundry, which I took care of this weekend. I’m trying to force myself to enjoy cooking and looking at it as a way of showing my family love through preparing good healthy meals. Whatever it takes, right? I’m looking forward to Super Tuesday. I’ve never attended a Caucus. But you can bet where I’ll be tomorrow night. There are too many health funding issues related to women and heart disease that make it impossible for me not to want to stay involved in the election and who our next president will be. I’ll have to take a nap during the day in order to stay up late to watch the results.

February 3, 2008
Today, we saw Michael Clayton at the movie theater and I watched the Super Bowl.  Actually, I organized drawers and did busy work during the game. Way too much excitement for most people but hey that’s my life!!!The weekend was anything but relaxing but rather fun. I love being with my family and great friends. I can’t wait for another fun-filled weekend.

February 1 – 2, 2008
This is the first time I have ever blogged and I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy sharing my thoughts with you. Here I go… 

Happy Heart Month and Wear Red Day!

Friday night, we watched the movie the God Father and I was in bed and asleep by 9:30. I’m rather proud of the bed time J.  Saturday, I helped a friend move or rather I was assigned a duty that I was incapable of messing up. Listen to how fun this was…I waited for the refrigerator to be delivered to her new house. I did unload some boxes from the U-Haul and I watered the Bamboo plants while I waited for the refrigerator. 

Later that night, Randy, my husband, and I joined our friends to help celebrate not only their 35th wedding anniversary but also her 20th year of sobriety. It was truly a CELEBRATION.