My Story

I had a fast heartbeat when I had my yearly checkup in November of 2020, and I was referred to a cardiologist. I had a heart conversion to try to control the fast heartbeat. This worked for about a month, but then I had to go to the ER with a rapid heartbeat.

Too many procedures and treatments

I was given medicine to try to control it, but that caused my heart to go into Afib. The next thing I tried was ablation, which helped a little. Then came heart catheterization. Lucky for me, there were no blockages. Then it was decided that I needed a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted in March of 2023.

I forgot that I had the implanted loop recorder somewhere along the line. Also, somewhere in there, I carried an external heart recorder for three months. So many things in so little time.

Finally finding something that works

Then, in June 2023, I had the “WATCHMAN” implant placed. That was my last procedure. Of course, I took lots of meds and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and persistent Afib. This brings me to now, my doctor said, “forget it’s there.” Easy to say, hard to do.

Well, guess what? I have almost forgotten it’s there. I believe I will live the best I can with what time I have. I believe if you make plans for the future and are looking forward to something, it makes you want to try harder to live. So take those meds and go to those doctor's appointments. Never, I mean, never give up.

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