I am a forty-three year old female and I have underwent an aortic valve replacement and a double bypass and an corrotid artery surgery all within the same week. I was actually sicker than I had originally thought and in December of 2005 I decided to fix my problem.

After all of this surgery I contracted a deadly staph infection and underwent several surgeries to rid my body of this very deadly infection. I suffered terribly from the surgeries which left me disabled and with no upper body strength. I can say I am alive but my life was over in a blink of an eye. This infection was not actually presented to me as being serious but I found out it was very deadly.

I am now recieving disability but I fought the Social Security Adiminstration for two years just to survive. I am not a well person and I never sleep too much. The heart disease was not even really taken serious by my doctors until it was too late.

I feel that money has a great deal with health. I lost my insurance because I could go back to work so I also lost a doctor. I went for two years without a doctor and now with Medicare I am still struggling to find a doctor to help me. I also underwent a spleenectomy in June of 2005 from lack of proper health care which left me with no immune system.

I am homebound now and I do not have a good outlook on surgery or heart disease I also lost confidence in the health care field because they did not see to care that I was sick not from anything I done but from their surgery unit. I advise anyone to check the staph infection records for whatever hospital they are having this surgery in. And also check your heart surgeon and ask questions. Do not walk in thinking it will be great and your life will be better afterwards. That is what I did and I found out too late that is not common. The heart surgery was a end of my life.

I have two children and four grandchildren that I cannot pick up. I have all the doctors in my state for what happened to me. I also had no support or help of any kind while I was begging for help from the Social Security Office. It is no help or support for women who have heart disease I had worked all my life and they took it very quickly.

I feel that everyone needs to know the risk and problems they can actually face with heart disease. It is a deadly disease that most doctors overlook in women. I know because they did me. I know a great deal about heart disease and the problems surrounding women who are suffering from it. I am very thankful to be alive but had I had better care and support I would be better. I feel more needs to be done for women who have this disease. Awareness is the first step and public awareness is important as well. There is no help nor support for us. We either die or suffer tremendously for the rest of our lives because of it.

Thank you,
Patty