My story

Hi there!
My SCA was 4-14-2012. I don’t remember that day, but I can tell you what happened according to what I have been told. It was a normal Saturday, I was home with my kids, doing laundry and house work. About midday, I started to feel anxious and panicky, not unusual, I’d had panic attacks before. My (now ex) husband was outside, I text him on his cell phone and asked him to come in the house. He sat with me for about 20 minutes, I told him I felt like passing out, then I did. We were sitting on our bed, so he laid me down and I was already turning blue. He called 911. The first deputy on scene was a 15 year former EMT. He moved me to the floor and started CPR immediately with the second deputy. As the first ambulance and paramedics arrived, the first deputy told them to call for a second ambulance with ice, as he knew the protocol for Abbott Northwestern Hospital and cardiac patients. They continued CPR for 25 minutes, defibrillated me 6 times, loaded me onto an ambulance, headed for the hospital to meet the helicopter that took me to Abbott (over an hour away by car). At Abbott, they placed a stent, induced a coma and hypothermic therapy. My family waited 3 weeks, as I did not want to wake up. The doctors called them to the hospital for a family meeting on a Monday. They were told that I would be moved to long term care facility and have a teach put in by the end of the week. They told them not to expect me home before Labor Day as I would have to learn to redo everything when I woke up. They also told them I had a 2% chance of waking up and knowing who they were.

The next day, I decided to wake up! I knew who everyone was, and I was spittin mad that I was in a hospital! I did not like doctors or nurses or being told what to do! My friends and family each told me their stories to help me piece the time back together. When I went home, other people told me how they experienced it, and discovered I was missing conversations and memories of the whole week before the event. I was devastated, some of it wasn’t very nice. I did 8 weeks of cardiac rehab and tried like heck to remember what had happened.

I have since learned to accept the missing time, be grateful for a second chance and it changed my perspective of life. The one thing that haunts me, is loneliness. I have no one that understands the gravity of what it has done to my heart, soul, brain and perspective! I am looking and desperately need to connect with others that have shared experiences. Please contact me...