I
don’t remember running, I finished in 1 hour 49 minutes; I
collapsed at the finishing line. My heart stopped,
thankfully the St. John Ambulance were at the finish line and
they had defibrillators at hand to give me the shock my heart
needed.
I was
in intensive care for 2 days, waking up on the Wednesday wired
up to all of these machines. I was then informed of what
happened to me - I had a cardiac arrest at the finish line.
My heart had stopped for 7 minutes and I then had another attack
in the ambulance.
Before the race I had texted 5 of my friends to say that I was
worried something wasn’t right and to wish me luck. I
don’t remember sending that message, I don’t remember feeling
odd or anything. I think my body went into auto-pilot, to
get me to the finish line.
It’s
scary to think that this could have happened anytime, all those
runs, especially those cross country runs.
After
having an MRI scan at Brompton Road I was diagnosed with Brugada
Syndrome. It had already been decided that I was going to
have an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) inserted
but had to wait on the MRI before getting the go ahead.
I
took everything in my stride, which seemed to surprise a few
people. I looked at it that I was lucky to still be here,
so I was like "do what you have to do".
On
the day of my operation, I couldn’t think and I was scared, I
was scared that I wouldn’t wake up. 4 hours later I was up
and I had a room full of friends, a lot to take in.
The
very next day I was released from hospital, after 3 weeks I was
so happy to be out. I was told to take it easy, but on the
day of release I was out walking along the beach.
A
week and half later I was back a work, I wasn’t allowed to do
any lifting or climb ladders - among many other things - for
about 6 weeks. I was able to resume a sex life within a
week of having my ICD inserted.
Life
is pretty much back to normal for me now, sometimes I even
forget that I have an ICD - though it looks like a bar of soap
under my skin. I’ve had my first pacing test, and I’ve
been told that I might be able to do marathon running again.
I
will listen to my doctors, I’m not going to put myself at risk.
I haven’t ran since that day but my running shoes are at the
ready.
It is
shocking to know that 8 young adults die in the UK every week
due to an undiagnosed heart condition. So I hope to raise
awareness through CRY and help give support to people that need
it.
After
what happened to me I wasn’t aware of CRY. People that go
through these experiences also need support, it is a very
confusing time.
