My Story

I used to work full time, I used to drive, I used to be independent.  Things have changed.  Here is my story.  It might have some holes...but here it goes. 
My first blow- I had a heart attack at the age of 50.  I remember wanting to make an egg salad sandwhich, but was tired so I went to bed.  My daughter Maegan walked in hours later and found me in bed, barely alive.  She called 911 and I was taken to the ER.  The next day I was life flighted to OHSU where I spent a week in the CardiacICU.  I had three stints put in.  It took a while, but I got back on my feet and went back to work.
The second,and the biggest and hardest- was losing my eyesight.  I was having major problems with my eyes and underwent a surgery to remove scar tissue.  The Dr. ended up removing part of my lens.  I lost my eyesight completely in that eye.  Later I was having problems with the pressure in my good eye, it would get dangerously high.  This was painful and the only fix was laser treatments to relase the pressure.  I would have these laser surgeries at least once a week, sometimes more.  I saw three doctors and no body had any idea what the problem was.    Somehow I was referred to the Casey Eye Institute in Portland Oregon and they were able to solve the mystery.  Tiny blod vessels were growing in my eye and constricting, causing the pressure to increase.  More laser surgery fixed the problem.  Each time the pressure increased in my eye, I lost a little  vision in my eye.  I have lost so much vision that I am legally blind "low vision" and cannot drive.  I am fortunate that when using a magnifiying glass and large print I am able to read.   After losing most of my vision, I was unable to work.  At this point I was homebound.  I couldn't drive or see.  It was devastating. My family struggled financially while I could not work and before social security started.
 The third hit, I had a stroke.  It took the doctors days to figure out it was a stroke.  They first thought it was a tumor, then a siezure, then finally realized it was a stroke after looking at MRI's and CAT Scans.  I had some slurred speech and weaknees in my right side.  Those side effects have subsided and I recovered well from the stroke.
The fourth, I had to start dialysis.  My kidney's we low functioning for a while, and I knew it was coming, it just came sooner than I expected.  I have to do dialysis three days a week for about 4 hours.  It took some creativity but I was able to find a ride to and from dialysis.  Because my husband works and makes decent money I do not qualify for ANY transportation services, even though I cannot drive.  It has been hard on me to rely on other people, but at the same time I am grateful for their kindness.  Before living with my daughter I had two wonderful ladies that would take me and drop me off. 
The fifth- totally unexpected Quadruple By-Pass (Open heart surgery).  During the process of getting on the transplant list I had to be deemed "healthy" and one test I had to go through was an angiogram.  The doctor said that if there was any blockage in my heart and the blood vessels they could fix it then and there.  I came out of the procedure in about an hour, which I thought was a good sign because that meant that they didn't have to fix anything, boy was I wrong.  There was so much blockage that the only way to fix it was with a triple by-pass.  It wasn't until the actual surgery that they determined that I need a quadruple by-pass.  I am still recovering from open heart surgery and planned on starting cardiac rehab so I can get on the transplant list (since my daughter is not a match). 

Due to the complications I have had with my foot (stress fractures along the top of my foot) I cannot start rehab and am not sure when I will be able to because of the severity of my foot injury.  I hope that I can get back on my feet (literally)

First Bus Ride to Long Beach

During the summer, I am staying with my daughter (Maegan) and her family (her husband Rudd and 2.5 year old son Reid) in Raymond Wa.  I had planned on staying with her while I did cardiac rehab in Aberdeen Wa, but the problems I have been having with my foot have put that on hold.  So I am now staying with my daughter until the foot heals and then through cardiac rehab.  The nearest dialysis center that has an open spot is in Long Beach Wa.  It is a little over an hour by car to get there, but once Maegan goes back to work in late August I will have to take the public transit.  Maegan and Reid rode the transit bus with me today.  It takes two hours to get there with one transfer in between and the same on the way back.  I will have to do this three days a week.  Here is a picture of Reid and I on the bus.  Out of 4 bus drivers, one was very nice, one was very rude, and two were just "ok".  Kind of sad that the bus drivers are not too friendly.  I wonder if they care where I am going or where I have been.  Maybe if they knew my story they would be a bit friendlier!  More on my story later.  It has been a long day, but I think know that I can do this.  It has been a while since I have been independent. Maybe someday soon I will start and finish cardiac rehab and finally be cleared to get on the transplant list and I won't have to ride a transit bus with grouchy drivers to get to dialysis.