By Friday I'm in limbo. I'm having the tests on Tuesday, so I have four days to wait.
There's no point trying to drum up business, as I'll soon be having the operation. I will just finish off what I'm doing at the moment. I page through my diary and make a list of the commitments that I'll probably have to cancel.
I break the news to the people in my office - Justin, Craig, Greg and Reg. They are shocked, but offer me positive encouragement. It's July, and I crack open and share the giant Easter egg that is still on my desk. We joke that dark chocolate is good for the heart.
The pounding in my chest has become a constant companion. But the medication starts to calm it a little, and from time to time it goes away. Bizarrely, I miss it when it's not there.
My husband is in denial. He wanders around the house, shaking his head, sighing and asking "Why?"
We can't think of anyone we know who has had a mitral heart valve operation. Then he recalls that our friend Christine had this problem. Shortly after giving birth to her second child, she collapsed and had to have emergency surgery. The baby was 13 days old. That would have been much more alarming. And after her surgery, she had to go home and take care of a baby and a toddler. Nearly twenty years later, Christine, a doctor, is fit and healthy. She's works out at the gym several days per week.
It's reassuring to know this.
Although the doctor has told me that I can continue my daily walking, I find I don't really want to.
By Friday night I'm feeling quite tired. I sit down and watch television - something I don't spend a lot of time doing.
Might as well get in practice.
There's no point trying to drum up business, as I'll soon be having the operation. I will just finish off what I'm doing at the moment. I page through my diary and make a list of the commitments that I'll probably have to cancel.
I break the news to the people in my office - Justin, Craig, Greg and Reg. They are shocked, but offer me positive encouragement. It's July, and I crack open and share the giant Easter egg that is still on my desk. We joke that dark chocolate is good for the heart.
The pounding in my chest has become a constant companion. But the medication starts to calm it a little, and from time to time it goes away. Bizarrely, I miss it when it's not there.
My husband is in denial. He wanders around the house, shaking his head, sighing and asking "Why?"
We can't think of anyone we know who has had a mitral heart valve operation. Then he recalls that our friend Christine had this problem. Shortly after giving birth to her second child, she collapsed and had to have emergency surgery. The baby was 13 days old. That would have been much more alarming. And after her surgery, she had to go home and take care of a baby and a toddler. Nearly twenty years later, Christine, a doctor, is fit and healthy. She's works out at the gym several days per week.
It's reassuring to know this.
Although the doctor has told me that I can continue my daily walking, I find I don't really want to.
By Friday night I'm feeling quite tired. I sit down and watch television - something I don't spend a lot of time doing.
Might as well get in practice.
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