The Day my Heart Broke Part 1

 I can't believe I'm here, in front of my trusty Mac, again to write a blogpost--something I haven't done in a decade. I'm rusty. My fingers feel tethered by cobwebs. But I feel like this story needs to be shared. 

October 23rd of 2021 was supposed to be a busy day for our family. We were visiting Cache Valley for the weekend with plans to clean our property (we own a home in northern Cache County that we planned on renting to a young couple of newlyweds who were attending Utah State University), do some shopping, and attend a halloween party that evening. It was a cold and rainy morning, so Aaron and I decided to workout indoors instead of running the hills of High Creek Canyon. Aaron took the treadmill and I picked up my jumprope to get in a quick cardio session. 

I love jumping rope--I'm not particularly good at it, but when you get into a rhythm with the rope, Oh man, it feels good! I turned on some upbeat music and began skipping over the rope. I have to have music when I'm jumping rope. It is a must. But on this morning, Aaron wanted to watch something...a documentary about WWII, I can't remember. I couldn't hear my music. In frustration I took my rope and cell phone and headed to the front porch. 

Our Cache Valley home has the most enviable front porch. It is 6 feet deep and wraps around the front of the old farmhouse with its views down the canyon and out into the valley. I love sitting on the porch and watching the cows in the pasture just below the house. Not too long ago, I discovered the joy of working out on the porch. It's relatively private and provides great fresh air and a view to distract from any boredom or monotony. 

This day, however, was cold--something I don't think my body appreciated much. I was working up a sweat (I am a very proficient sweater, if I do say so myself) and the cold air felt a little biting. But my rhythm was good, the music on my playlist was spot on, so I pushed on. 

About 20 minutes into  my workout I noticed my heart rate jump. I'm used to that. 25 years prior I was diagnosed with Supraventricular tachycardia, an arrhythmia that causes an unusually fast heart rate in the upper chambers of the heart. I'd had a surgery to correct it (a cardiac ablation), however it had been unsuccessful and the doctor told me not to worry about it too much as it was a fairly benign arrhythmia. 

I stopped jumping rope to see if my heart rate would come down, but soon found myself feeling extremely dizzy.  I gathered up my rope and phone and retreated into my house--the workout was over. Back in the house I lay on the floor stretching, cooling down, and trying to bring my heart rate down. I was wearing and Apple watch that read a heart rate of 89--not high at all. I was very confused as I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. After about 10 minutes, Aaron completed his run and my heart rate was still raging. I knew I had to tell him, though I really didn't want to. I'd had this happen before and it had always resolved on its own--no need to alarm anyone.

To my dismay and tremendous disappointment, after a few more minutes nothing changed. My heart thundered on and I was beginning to get nauseous and dizzy. My son, Brighton, brought me a sports drink and Aaron brought me a banana thinking maybe I was dehydrated and had low blood sugar. I attempted to shower, clinging to the walls and countertop as I made my way into the bathroom. I saw stars in my vision and my breath felt shallow and weak. In the shower, I raised my arms to wash my hair only to find myself collapsing on the floor as my vision went dark. To this point I had felt pretty calm--as I said, this had happened before and I'd been fine--but now it felt different. Sitting collapsed on the shower floor the thought crossed my mind, "This is how I die."

Aaron came into the bathroom and found collapsed on the shower floor and instantly came to his knees next to me. In a panic, but knowing exactly what he needed to do, Aaron quickly gave me a Priesthood blessing before helping me from the shower. Back in the bedroom, he tenderly helped me dress as I lay on the floor getting more and more nauseous with each minute. Despite passing out and feeling ill, I begged of a trip to the hospital. Brighton, in his 22-year-old wisdom, offered to call an ambulance, reminding me that heart issues should be taken very seriously, and that the heartburn I complained of was actually chest pain. 

I'm ashamed now to admit that it took two hours for Aaron and Brighton to convince me to go the emergency room. When I finally acquiesced, Aaron carried me to the car for the 25 minute trip to Logan Regional Hospital. I tried several times to tell him to turn around claiming that I felt better. Luckily, Aaron is a smart and concerned man. He forced me into a wheelchair and guided me to the emergency department lobby. All the while my watch read my heart rate as 89 bpm. I could not figure out what was going on. My heart was just thundering--that is the only word to describe how it felt. 

After about 30 seconds a nurse called me back to triage. I removed my top and put on a hospital gown and crawled onto the bed as the nurse quickly placed a few leads on my chest for  monitoring my heart. I never got to see the monitor display, but it took only seconds for the tiny room to fill with a two doctors and a physician assistant as well more medical personnel that quickly wheeled my bed into another room across the emergency department. The doctor looked at me and said, "This isn't SVT. This is Ventricular Tachycardia. Your heart is working harder than we'd like. We're going to have to do a cardioversion on you."

I knew what every word he said meant. The gravity of the situation was not lost on me.Ventricular Tachycardia, or VT, is a very dangerous arrhythmia that can quickly lead to cardiac arrest of not ameliorated through medication or cardioversion. He explained that ordinarily they would try medication first, but with the rate my heart was going (230-240 bpm), cardioversion was the safer bet. Through tears, I gave consent. IV's were placed in both arms, electrodes were placed all over my torso and legs, oxygen was placed over my face, and before I knew it, I was drifting off to dreamland as they prepped my for a sedated cardioversion.

To be continued...