Living with Congestive Heart Failure

Hi,

In my 5-7th month of pregnancy I began having severe shortness of breathe. If I laid flat I couldn’t breathe at all. My doc brushed me off as thinking it was all related to the pregnancy. I complained over and over and she made fun of my “anxiety attacks”. 4 weeks before my due date I recall trying to get ready for work. My husband came home to find me passed out on the nursery floor. We went to the hospital where I was diagnosed with full blown pulmonary edema as well as congestive heart failure My heart was barely working at 8%. My baby was in trouble so they did an immediate c-section. I was given no medicine as it would bottom out my pressure and kill me.

I woke up the next day with horrible pain from the c-section and pain in my chest. I was in congestive heart failure and not expected to live more than a few hours. Over the four months I spent in the hospital I fought for my life as a died 4 times and was brought back. In May 2007 I received a heart transplant after going through a pacemaker defibrillator, and a VAD . A year later I’m dealing with chronic pain in my chest wall and back. I can barely walk most days.