Olivia Rose

No matter what age you were diagnosed with heart failure, we all remember receiving the news. We all remember what life was like before the diagnosis. For me, there wasn’t...

When I found out that I had advanced heart failure it felt like the ending of my story was near. There were suddenly all these feelings of things I’d never...

According to www.selfcarefederation.org, “self-care is the practice of individuals looking after their own health using the knowledge and information available to them.” It can range from going for a walk...

Feeling like a burden because of heart failure is one of the hardest feelings to overcome. You may feel that everything is your fault and people have to rearrange their...

I remember when the doctors found out that my heart was in the advanced heart failure stage. My parents and I were shocked because when I was diagnosed with dilated...

I was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy at the end of the summer of 2014. The doctors told me to stop exercising and start a medication regimen. They were hoping that...

Many of us have had times when we were admitted to the hospital because of heart failure. Depending on what the doctor says, you never know how long you’ll be...

"You can’t go into any water," are the words I heard when Sharon was explaining how the LVAD works. An LVAD is a battery-operated mechanical device that pumps the left...

I celebrated my 3rd Heartiversary on February 2nd. I cannot believe it has actually been 3 years since I was given my gift. On or close to my anniversary the heart...

When I was 25 years old, I suffered my first stroke. My family and I were shocked to hear this news and we didn’t know what was going to happen...

Whether you are around family or friends the topic of work will inevitably become one of the topics of conversation. If you’re like me you dread these conversations because you...

Patients and doctors agree that when you have a heart transplant you can experience transplant guilt. Transplant guilt is when the heart transplant patient feels guilty about benefitting from someone's...

If you are like me and the many other people in the world, you love to travel. Traveling with heart failure is something that can be nerve-wracking, but with the...

Many people do not really know the trauma a heart patient has to go through. Long hospital stays, doctor appointments, and many disappointments. It also begins to take a toll...

In 2014, when I was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, I knew that my dating life was automatically in jeopardy. The main reason was that I was told by doctors not...

Many people ask me which was a harder recovery: the transplant or LVAD surgery? So, let’s set the scene. Before I had LVAD surgery I suffered a stroke, so my...

Finally back to the job market after being gone for 5 years. When I was diagnosed with advanced heart failure I was put on medical disability. It wasn’t just that...

When I got diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy in 2014, I never knew that I would be in advanced heart failure 4 years later. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a heart disease that...

“You have heart failure,” is the single worst phrase you ever want to hear. Getting a diagnosis of heart failure is one of the most shocking things you can hear...

When you go through something as traumatic as being diagnosed with something like heart failure, it changes your entire life. My first taste of this was when I suffered a...