My Life Was Never Going to Be the Same

I've lived with my heart issue for over twenty years. I have known that at anytime my heart might just decide to stop pumping, and there won't be anything anyone can do. That's a hard reality to face when you are raising two teenagers, but it is my life.

So I did everything the doctors told me to do, until I didn't. The thing about my heart disease is that I never really got over being mad. I was mad at everyone that this "thing" hung over me and my family. I was mad that it happened to me, mad I couldn't keep up physically, and therefore, held everyone back.

What I had to figure out and get comfortable with is how to accept my new reality. This took self- examination of my mindset, therapy, family support, and a good doctor. What I've learned is you can live your life or let life set the rules. I changed my rules and now live my life more fully than ever before.