My origin story: I was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in North Ayrshire, Scotland. I attended a BSc program at Glasgow University, majoring in Chemistry, and it was here that I met my husband-to-be in a rather strange place: a limestone quarry.

The meeting occurred as follows. I had found an almost perfect example of a fossil, a specimen called Productus Giganteus, which is a brachiopod from the Lower Carboniferous period. This was duly examined and admired by all 20 students, including one who decided to ask me out on a date.

Strangely enough, the story of the fossil has changed over the years and whenever anyone asked how we met, my husband tells them the story of the quarry, but claims that I was the one who admired HIS Productus Giganteus! We were married shortly after my husband completed his post-graduate diploma in teaching. In 1969, we set out for Canada arriving in Calgary on August 19. We took up residence in Oyen, Alberta, where my husband taught High School Science and Mathematics.

Although we enjoyed small town prairie life, we decided after seven years, it was time to move on, so off to the University of Calgary we went for two years where my husband completed his Master’s degree and I did a BEd. I did teach some evening classes for some adults, but minimally, and did some substitute teaching. We then moved our family, which now consisted of three children (two girls and one boy), one dog and one cat to BC. We have lived in several places in BC, but we now live on the other side of the harbour from Ladysmith, at the end of Shell Beach Road. Our children and three of our six grandchildren also live on Vancouver Island.

My age: I’m 76.

My heart health experience

I first became aware of my heart symptoms in late 2015 when I developed some tightness like a band in my left arm just above the elbow. This only happened when I was hiking, particularly when I was going up a steep slope. Over time it seemed that it was intensifying, so I went to see my doctor who pressed my arm and told me it was muscular in origin, not to worry about it, and it would soon disappear.

After about a year or so, it was becoming more frequent and I was also getting a little breathless, so I returned to the doctor, who then referred me to an internist in Duncan. A treadmill test in June 2017 revealed that there was an issue, and they stopped the treadmill test immediately. I was then referred to a cardiologist, Dr. Nadra, in Victoria, who performed an angiogram which was done in November 2017.

This revealed significant blockages which doctors felt needed to be addressed by means of hybrid surgery – a mixture of stents and open-heart surgery. It was pointed out to me that it would be up to the surgeon to make the final decision on how to proceed.

I met with Dr. Lyn Fedorak, Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, in the second week of December 2017, and she indicated that she would be performing a quadruple bypass.

This surgery was scheduled and completed on December 28, 2017.

Complications lead to angiogram

Unfortunately, it was not successful as three of the four grafts failed and only the mammary artery graft was successful. Fortunately, this was a good graft.

On March 26, 2018, after several visits to Emergency, because I couldn’t breathe deeply and I just didn’t feel right, I had an angiogram and subsequent angioplasty and four stents were inserted to deal with the failed grafts. So, at the end of the day I did have hybrid surgery, after all!

Strangely enough, I have apparently had heart disease for many years, perhaps as early as my 30s, as my heart had already formed its own bypass. In other words, my heart had formed its own way of getting the blood around the blockage or blockages. The doctor said the heart is very clever, and it takes awhile for this sort of thing to develop, so he estimated I would have been somewhere in my 30s when this was happening. The role that lifestyle and genetics play reverses with age. When you are young, lifestyle is the more important factor in heart health, but as you get older genetics get the upper hand.

Dealing with heart disease

Since that last procedure, my treatment regime has been one of ingesting tablets to keep my blood pressure and my heart rate down and, consequently, this has led to eternal tiredness. I used to be an extremely high energy person but no more. The new normal is not one that I necessarily enjoy but I am adjusting, slowly!

I think I’ve dealt with heart disease by modifying what I do. I still hike but not as far, not as fast, and not as high. One of the things I loved when I was younger was being a member of the Glasgow University Mountaineering Club. It’s taken a long time to accept that I’m not the person I used to be. I was in denial for a long time, and I think I’m slowly accepting it. But I still have difficulty with it, I still push myself a lot, some days more than others. I’m just hoping that once I get back to see Dr. Nadra that he’ll look at changing medications which might help me.

I’ve changed when I do things. I recognize that morning is my good time and if I need to do anything energetic, I try to get it done then.

I think I appreciate life a bit more. I realize I’ve been given another chance and I want to make the most of it.

What are the benefits of belonging to the Nanaimo Heart Sisters?

I first heard about Heart Sisters at a Vancouver Island Health Authority class and I only wish that I had known about the group sooner. That first six months after surgery were very difficult because I had read somewhere that graft failure patients seldom lived beyond a year. Because of this, I kept thinking that I was going to die but felt that I could not discuss this with family as it would upset them. So, the fears were kept deep inside.

I have been a member of Heart Sisters since August 2018, and the most important aspect of the group for me is being with people who share some of the same fears and anxieties that I do and knowing that should I need to share any fears or concerns, I can do so without reservation.

Thank you all for sharing and supporting.