NEWS!

As of last night, I wasn't planning to have an update so soon.  Isn't it funny how you receive news when you least expect it?  

The first thing this morning, I received a phone call. On the other end of the line was the Denver cardiologist's nurse.  As it turns out, Dr. Carroll did have a chance to look at my file yesterday.  The nurse explained that she did not have a chance to call me, because she was home with a sick kiddo.  "Hallelujah!"  resounded in my mind, "I finally have answers!" 

Not only did I have answers, but she told me that Dr. Carroll would be able to repair my holes through the percutaneous (closed) method.  It will involve two patches, but it can be done.  Better yet, I was able to make an appointment for a consult with the Dr. himself on January 27 and the procedure will be completed on January 29, 2015. 

"Is this soon enough for you?" she asked.
"Absolutely!" I replied finding it hard to contain my excitement, as we continued our conversation.  

I soon found out that following the procedure, I will only have to be hospitalized for 24 hours, and then I will be able to go home.  I can return to work early the following week.  

I still have many questions for the doctor including how sure he is that this method will work for me and when I will be able to return to the activities I enjoy.  Those will have to wait another few weeks until he returns from Taiwan.  This procedure will also need to be preapproved through my health insurance company. I hope this won't hold up being able to have my heart repaired, as I have read horror stories of others who are still waiting for procedures due to insurance snags.  

Right now, I am going to enjoy this wonderful news, but wanted to share it with you all.  I am so thankful to have a problem that looks like it can be repaired.

Thanks to each and every one of you for following my story and your continued support and prayers.  I have received so many kind messages from my many friends and family old and new, near and far.  I wouldn't be able to "hold it all together" if it were not for you all.  I will continue to update this blog as there is new information and ups and downs.

Waiting

I wrote this yesterday......working on an update......

This is my new mantra.  I am failing miserably.  Waiting..... NO ONE would describe me as a patient person.  In fact, my dad told me, "There is not a picture of you in the dictionary next to the word patience." 

Exercise has ALWAYS been my coping mechanism for stressful situations. Does this not qualify as stressful?  Now, the most I am allowed to do is take a brisk walk?!  

Today, marks 2 weeks since my TEE when I was told that I have a PFO and an ASD. I marked this day on my calendar with a large red X, because the cardiologist in Casper said I will have information regarding how these two holes will need to be repaired in 1-2 weeks.  

He explained that they may be able to be repaired through a closed procedure in which a catheter inserted through my groin would be used to place a patch over the holes.  The other possibility would be open heart surgery.  Because there are 2 holes with very little tissue between, the later would more likely.  However, we will know for sure after he sends the TEE and shunt test to a cardiologist in Denver who specializes in the closed procedure.  "Ok," I thought, no big deal, we will know soon. Sedation has a way of making a person more patient.....

"BIG DEAL!" The first week wasn't so bad.  I was busy with the end of the first semester at school and getting ready for Christmas. The time off from exercise gave me some much needed extra time and some energy to get the "extra things" completed.  

Week 2 well that is another story..... Christmas is over, the kids are bouncing off the walls, and I want to go skiing, to Cross Fit, ice skating, sledding, and swimming.  My house is a mess, and did I mention we got a boat load of snow on Christmas day and a little more each day every since????  I also got a kidney infection for Christmas.  Talk about adding insult to injury.  This morning, I joked with my doctor that I am just going to move into the clinic.  

I still have almost a whole week off from school and still no answers.  I feel like I am getting the run around.  On Friday, I was told, you should definitely have answers on Monday. The cardiologist has been off because of the holidays.  Today, the nurse said, the doctors in Denver and Casper have not talked yet. The cardiologist in Denver is going to Taiwan tomorrow and the cardiologist in Casper is off this whole week. Still no information......Ugh!  I don't know how much longer I can wait! I know that doctors are very hard working people just like everyone else and everyone needs a break, but why does it need to be when I am waiting for information!

My poor husband and best friends, Shelli and Josie, and my sister, Ellie (via phone) got the brunt of my breakdown tonight.  I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life supporting me and lifting me up. Thanks to you all being there for me no matter what.

So, I made an appointment with a different cardiologist in Denver. The earliest I can get in is January 14, 2015.  Another 2 weeks to wait for answers...... that is the plan for now.  In the meantime, maybe the cardiologist in Denver will call..... I guess I am just not the type of girl who will sit and wait for the phone to ring forever.  

In the meantime, I need to figure out how to not go crazy. Once this infection clears up, I will settle for skiing behind the girls, very easy swimming, and my "brisk walks"..... I will find joy in more Lego projects with the girls and my new found a crochet hobby.  I may even do a few body weight squats, push ups, yoga, or anything else I can do at a brisk walk pace. Who knows, maybe I will stop and smell some roses along the way.... metaphorically speaking of course since tomorrow the high is supposed to be -2.

Diagnosis Shock

Bear Lake Brawl Swim to Bike Transition

On Monday, December 15, 2014, I found myself at Wyoming Medical Center. A feeling of irony overcame me as I was walked to the outpatient wing by a very, elderly, woman volunteer.  She looked frail and much closer to death than myself.  "Why am I here?" resounded through my mind numerous times as we wound through the long hallways. 

I was there for a  TEE to find out more information about the possible hole(s) in my heart. Following the test, the doctor reported that there are 2 holes in my heart, both in the wall between my atrium.  One is an ASD and one a PFO, and they are both large enough to need to be repaired.  These holes are congenital.  My immediate thoughts were......."You mean I have had these MY WHOLE LIFE?  Are you kidding me?  How on earth have I been able to do all that I have done physically including having two children through natural childbirth and not had a stoke?  I was in labor with Eva for 37 hours!"  Needless, to say I was in shock.  I think I still am in shock.  
The other crazy thing, is my mom had a hole in the wall between her atrium repaired 42 years ago when she was 17.  The doctors were well aware of this when my sisters and I were all born.  They were on the lookout for this genetic defect.... I have never had a murmur and still do not have a murmur! 

Cross Fit Open 14.2 2014 Chest to Bar Pull Ups

Jurassic Classic 2014

These are  just a few of the athletic activities I love and used to do daily.  Ever since I can remember, if there was a new physical challenge, I was ready to sign up.  From figure skating and piano lessons to marathons, triathlons, and endurance cycling events, I am not known to sit still for very long.  For my first 30 years of life, I really DID NOT have any indication that anything could possibly be wrong with my heart.

Looking back, my first symptom was likely after my 2nd daughter was born in the Spring of 2009.  I started to notice that my heart was skipping beats, otherwise known as palpitations.  I had an EKG and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. Nothing real alarming showed up.  My doctor said it might just be the stress of having babies 23 months apart and the strain of pregnancy and nursing on my body.  I should rest.  So I did (as much as a mom of a newborn and 2 yr old can) for a few months.  The symptoms seemed to disappear. 

In the meantime, I began competing again in the summer of 2010. I participated in several half marathons and triathlons, 2 marathons in 2012, and became more active in mountain biking including the Dakota 5-0 in the fall of 2013.  This is also when I I joined the local Cross Fit "box" and competed in my first CF competition and the CF Open.  Also, did I mention, I became a certified personal trainer during this time and was a co-founder of the local sprint triathlon?

The winter of 2013, I returned to classroom teaching after 5 years of being a stay at home mom and part-time personal trainer.  My husband and I also hit a pretty rough period in our marriage.  The symptoms returned.  I was experiencing the palpitations again. However, I also was not sleeping and was super STRESSED.  An EKG showed PVCs and the results of the holter monitor showed occasional palpitations, but again "nothing to worry about". I even ran a hard 5K with it on.  My heart rate remained at a level 140 the entire time.  I have always had very low blood pressure and a very low resting heart.  I am an athlete. The symptoms were once again likely related to stress. I experienced rahbdomylosis that spring twice (the specifics of this are part of another story...).

Therefore, I took the 2014 season off from racing (other than the 4th of July 5K and the Jurassic Classic mtn bike race - 8 miles), despite having just gotten a new mountain bike and having had previous goals of qualifying for Xterra National Championships.  I was taking a break to recover fully from the rahbdo.  I was being really careful with both volume and intensity.  I did keep up with exercise 4-6 times per week. I had trouble off an on throughout the summer with my health and going into fall things seemed to get worse and worse.  My stress at school was way less than the year before and my life stress had mostly disappeared. This time, I knew it WAS NOT STRESS causing these symptoms.  Something was WRONG.  I felt terrible, I was tiring easily throughout the day, and was EXHAUSTED by the end of the school week.  I went back to the doctor several times.  We tried a few different things. I had labs done, but we were really not finding an answer.  I still felt terrible, and the palpitations kept getting worse. 

One Friday morning on December 5, 2014, I was preparing for the day in my classroom.  I was feeling extreme fatigue and nausea. I checked my pulse, and I was having 3-4 palpitations in a minute.   I also had the school nurse check my pulse and blood pressure.  After walking down to her office from my classroom, my blood pressure was 102 over 62, my pulse was 70, and I was still skipping 3-4 beats a minute. Immediately, I made an appointment to see the doctor that afternoon.  I was unable to see my regular doctor, so I went to his PA.  As a result of my appointment that day, I was referred for an echo cardiogram the following Tuesday.  

I followed up with the echo, and while I was having the test done, the tech ordered a bubble test.  At the time, I had no idea what was going on or why.  That Thursday, I found out why, when my doctor called me while I was Christmas shopping.  He told me that I had a hole in my heart.  At least one, but he couldn't rule out the possibility of more than one.  He explained that the bubble test was used to test where the blood was flowing in my heart.  It was supposed to go from my lft atrium to my lungs.  If this was happening, the bubbles would disappear into my lungs.  However, the bubbles were not doing this.  They were passing directly from my lft atrium to my rt atrium quickly and in a large volume.  Since, I live in a small mountain town in Wyoming, I was lucky enough to have a cardiologist in town to look at my bubble test. He recommended I go directly to Casper for a TEE.  I was scheduled for the test that next Monday.

So here, I am sitting, waiting, patiently, as patiently as a person who almost NEVER sits to find out what my next steps will be.  It is Christmas Break.  I want to be at the CrossFit "box" with my friends.  I want to have enough energy to play with my kids.  I want to know that when this is all figured out, I will be able to do everything I could do before.  I am told that I will probably be even better in the end.  Right now, it is not in my hands, so I am trying to leave it in God's hands.  This is not easy for a "control freak" who schedules everything at least a month ahead of time.  Hopefully, it will be a matter of a few days, and I will know if I will have an open or closed procedure to repair the holes.  Right now, they are being filled by love and support from friends and family.  Thank you all, you don't know how much this means to me.  I the days and weeks to come, I will continue to use this blog to keep friends and family near and far update.  It is also therapeutic to me to think out loud in writing.

Welcome

Lifetime Fitness Triathlon 2013

Growing up in northern MN, my athletic career began as a runner and swimmer. Following high school graduation, I attended Gustavus Adolphus College where I swam competitively for 4 years.  I then began teaching 5th grade and head coaching girls swimming in a rural town in southwestern MN.  I quickly became restless without athletic goals of my own.  That is when I met my husband who taught me everything about purchasing a road bike and helped to get me hooked on triathlon.  Not to mention in the years to come, I picked up telemark skiing, snowboarding, nordic skiing, mountain biking, climbing, and even learned to golf. All inspired by him.  

Moab Trail Marathon 2012

We moved to the beautiful Wind River Mountains in Wyoming shortly following our wedding. Now, he fly fishes, bow hunts, and Olympic lifts, leaving the "endurance stuff" to me.  Although, I can occasionally get him to brush the dust off his endurance gear and go with me.  I even talked him into doing a trail marathon a couple years ago. We have been married 10 years and have 2 daughters ages 5 and 7 who are now learning to swim, climb, ski, and are saving up their pennies to purchase mountain bikes.  They have also been caught practicing Olympic lifts with their PVC pipes or doing burpees while accompanying us to the local CF "box" or in the backyard.  

Eva and Abby Camping Trip 2013

I teach 4th grade on the Wind River Indian Reservation. On Monday, December 15, 2014, I was diagnosed with an ASD and a large PFO that will both need to be repaired. After being active my entire life with almost no complications, this news came as quite a shock.