I checked in to emergency room at the local hospital. A man in a white coat stood face to face with me and asked if I was having chest pains or shortness of breath. My reply was yes. He looked at me in disbelief and told me to have a seat in the waiting room it would be an hour or so before I was called. I was thirty two years old and in good shape no one would believe I had a heart problem. I left and drove to Dr. Guilbert’s office thirty minutes away in the snowstorm. I was rushed out of his office byambulance and taken to the city hospital. I had congestive heart failure that night. They did emergency surgery to install a heart pump. I was then rushed to Tufts in Boston where I had a new heart pump installed and a biopsy. I was diagnosed with Giant Cell Myocarditis and placed on the transplant list. Against all odds I left the hospital weeks later with my own heart at full function.
Eighteen months later I was back at Tufts in a coma for months. I arrested several times. They called the CDC in hopes of answers. I was finally diagnosed with Meningeal Encephalitis and cerebritis. My immune system attacked my brain. I was treated with steroids, antiviral agents and Cytoxan eventually fully regaining my memory.
One year later I was rushed out of Dr. Guilberts office again. I had Pulmonary Embolism, and chronic kidney disease stage III, systemic lupus erythmatosis, lupus nephritis, vasculitis. The next year I had a right atrial collapse, pleurisies, and pericarditis with bibasilar atelectasis. Against all odds and expectations I am still here. My secret you ask? Positive thinking and an unshakable faith.
