My origin story: I was born in Nanaimo and raised in Parksville. I got married in 1964 and my husband and I moved away from Vancouver Island up to northern BC to Kitimat, where we lived for almost 20 years. One of our sons still lives up there and we also have two kids in Nanaimo. We then moved to Campbell River for seven years, but then moved to Lantzville, where we’ve lived for 20 years.

My age: You’re only as old as you feel!

Occupation: I’ve been retired for several years, but I previously worked at the post office for six years and the liquor store for 13 years.

My heart and diabetes health experiences

To begin with, I was diagnosed with diabetes 18 years ago. Then in 2010, I had some tests done in Nanaimo because I was having some heart issues. I was sent down to Victoria to the Royal Jubilee Hospital to have an angiogram and I had a stent put in. I can’t remember the exact reasons for my heart issues. I felt fine after I received the stent.

Then in 2011, I began having more heart issues so I went into Nanaimo Regional General Hospital and had a MIBI test done as I couldn’t do the treadmill test. So, I had the test and was lying down with the radioactive tracer dye fluid injected into my arm. While I was having the test, I suddenly started having sharp shooting pains in my shoulder blade area. I was looking at the nurse and saying, “Please make it stop, stop, stop!” I remember I was shaking and vibrating badly and I was told to come back the next day for an X-ray.

But when I got in my car, I was still vibrating. After it eased up, I went and did some grocery shopping. When I got home, my husband, Gordon, said the hospital had called and they wanted me to go back to the hospital immediately. They said that I wasn’t to walk or anything, because it turned out that I had had a heart attack during the MIBI test! They weren’t paying much attention to what was going on with me, right? My husband took me back to the hospital.

New procedure corrects heart problem

So, I had to stay in Nanaimo hospital and after about three days I was taken to Royal Jubilee Hospital by ambulance to Victoria.

In August 2011, I had open heart surgery in what was called an off-pump procedure. It’s not a common procedure. My heart didn’t have to be stopped and I did not have a blood transfusion. I was given a general anesthetic. There was only one doctor in Victoria who did that procedure, and it wasn’t as invasive as a regular open-heart surgery. During the surgery, they took a good artery off my chest wall and replaced the artery that was bad on the top of my heart.

The cardiologist wanted to discharge me on the third day after the operation, but the diabetes dude wouldn’t let me out because my sugars were all out of whack after the procedure. So, I ended up staying in hospital for about four days until I stabilized.

Ongoing treatment

I don’t really see any doctors per se for my heart. My own GP will refer me for tests if need be. I’m currently on blood thinners and Metropolol, a beta-blocker medication, and just regular heart medications.

Diabetes complications

I’ve had a stent put in my right leg because I had blockages there. Plus, I had an angiogram done in Victoria a couple of years before the stent was put in. The blockages were more diabetes-related but they could be a complication of both heart and diabetes issues.

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

I heard about the Nanaimo Heart Sisters support group through the Heart & Stroke Foundation. They told me about a lady named Diane who helped organize the group. I’ve been a member since October 2011, just when the Heart Sisters were getting started.

I think the benefits to belonging to this group are just having people to talk to who are going through similar situations as me. It’s just nice being around people who understand what’s going on, similar to what I’m going through.