My family and I were
desperate for answers; during those years, we must have seen at least 25
physicians, but came up with no diagnosis.
Eventually doctors turned
towards psychological aspects such as panic attacks, wanting attention,
depression, or that I was on drugs, pregnant etc...which were completely
untrue.
I eventually found an
electrophysiologist who performed a cardiac ablation in August 2006 to
correct my arrhythmia, but two weeks later, I continued to have the same
symptoms. While I was at home watching television, my heart rate shot
up to 200 and I passed out. My mom called the ambulance right away, and
when the paramedics came, they knew that I needed help and they knew
this was not just something I could “fake”, which is what many doctors
had assumed at this point.
They
rushed me to the hospital where I was admitted for 3 days. After the
3rd day, I was released with “I don’t know why this happened. Take these
beta-blockers”, but these medicines were not helping at all.
Then, in October 2006
(after 2 more fainting episodes at my University), my
electrophysiologist finally said, “I don’t know…take these
antidepressants and beta-blockers. Maybe it’s an endocrine problem or
you’re just stressed.”
So, my mom and I came home
crying, BUT that’s when God answered our prayers.
A family friend of ours was
at the house, and had just come back from the airport (flying in from a
short vacation).
He asked “what kind of
doctor is it that you see?” And we said, “an electrophysiologist,” to
which he replied, “Well, I was sitting next to one on the plane over
here. I told him about you and he said he was interested in checking
over your problems, and he gave me his card. He works at Cedars Sinai
Medical Center in Los Angeles”.
At that exact moment, his
cell phone rings, and it was my future electrophysiologist!
So, our friend handed the
phone to my mom and I and from that point on, we knew this was the
doctor who would save my life. He introduced himself and said to go
ahead and fax over all my records and he’d check it over. He called one
day later and asked if we could go to Cedars Sinai Medical Center the
next morning to see him, because he said that all the EPs found my case
interesting and complex, and that a renowned EP was also flying in from
Utah that day. So we left the house at 4:30am and headed over to the
hospital and we just fell in love with all the doctors involved.
For two weeks, they studied
my case, and finally, came to the conclusion that I had arrhythmia
problems that were caused by a virus that damaged my heart’s electrical
“wiring” and also mentioned that the ablation might have made my
symptoms worse. They said in order for me to feel better and to
regulate my arrhythmias, I needed to have a pacemaker implanted. So on
November 3rd, 2006, I received my first pacemaker.
When I woke up from
surgery, I was amazed at how well I felt! For the first time in many
years, my skin was no longer pale, my hands and feet were warm, and I
wasn’t short of breath! Nurses, doctors, friends, and family members
were constantly amazed at how well I looked.
However, I did encounter a
complication: a doctor from a different hospital took my steri-strips
off too soon, pulling one tiny suture out, which eventually made an
opening in my incision. Subsequently, I developed a pacemaker infection
and was admitted to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (December 15, 2006
through December 27, 2006).
Cardiologists had to remove
the whole system and relocate it to the other side of my chest, and
during surgery, my heart stopped. Fortunately the physicians reacted
quickly and placed a temporary pacemaker on my neck with wires coming in
through my jugular vein to the atrium and ventricle. But, by the grace
of God, I was able to be released from the hospital on December 28, 2006
with a brand new pacemaker, which has given me a better quality of
life! It was a great Christmas present for all of us.
I’m now on the road to
recovery and I feel wonderful! Recently I’ve been working on my pre-med
courses and studying for my MCATs. I plan to pursue a career in
Emergency Medicine and musical composition. I enjoy rollerblading,
playing softball, piano and violin.
If you feel like you’re the
only young person with cardiac problems, then this website will
definitely help you. I know that when I was sick, I felt as if no one
really understood, but when I found this site, it was very comforting to
know that there are many young people out there that are going through
(or have gone through) the same emotional and physical stress as I was.
As a future medical
professional, I pray I will never lose sight as to what patients are
going through, as well as their families. My goal is to not stereotype
patients when it comes to illnesses, because as shown here, you don’t
have to be old to have heart problems; it could happen to anyone.
Valerie
Macias
