My origin story: I was born Oct. 2, 1959, in Lethbridge, AB, lived there, and in Medicine Hat, AB, and then in Swift Current, SK, from age eight to 17. I moved to Saskatoon, SK, and eventually completed my Bachelor of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. I married my first husband in 1983. In 1990, we moved to Nanaimo where I continued teaching Music in elementary schools until my retirement in June 2019. I divorced in 1992, reunited with my “first love” Lorne, we were married in 1995, and had our daughter in 1997. I reached the ripe old age of 60 in October 2019, only months after retiring. It couldn’t feel better!

My age: I’m 65 years old.

My occupation: Retired elementary school music teacher in Saskatchewan and Nanaimo, BC; retired in June 2019.

My heart health story

My heart attack occurred over 12 years ago, but I can still remember every detail as if it happened yesterday.

At 6:30 pm on Monday Jan. 19, 2009, I entered the local swimming pool to participate in an aquatics class. I immediately felt a slight pressure in my sternum, excused it as possibly heart burn, drank some water, left the pool for a few minutes, re-entered the pool as the pressure seemed to subside, felt it return, then casually decided to head home. I said to a teacher friend beside me in the pool that “I must have picked up something at school today.”

I dressed quickly and drove the five-minute trip home. I remember my mind saying, “I wonder if my husband and daughter will be home yet...” and feeling better as I approached our house and saw that his vehicle was there and lights were on in the house. I now believe that my subconscious mind knew that something was coming.

I quietly headed upstairs, saying I didn’t feel quite right – “It’s nothing serious” – and would eat supper later.

Within a half hour, the pressure changed to pain and, as it increased, I decided to go to the hospital. I joked about where the pain was: “Isn’t that where my heart is?” My husband drove me – probably not the best choice – but when you don’t know, you just do what comes naturally. During the drive, I was in excruciating pain in the chest, upper back, shoulders and up my jaw (I call it labour in the chest). But by the time we arrived at the Emergency department, the pain had subsided to a slight pressure in the sternum area only. Other than this pressure, which came in waves, I felt perfectly normal. . .no sweating or shortness of breath.

Diagnosis → Heart attack

An ECG indicated nothing unusual, so I awaited results of blood work and to see a doctor. Suddenly I felt nauseous and almost passed out. Then I was whisked onto an exam table (8:15 pm), hooked up to all kinds of machines, experienced a migraine aura of flashing strobe lights – which I thought must be relevant – but eventually was told was a common side effect of being given nitroglycerin. The doctor told me I’d suffered a “myocardial infarction” (MI), a heart attack, and would be taken to the ICU until morning, when I would be taken by ambulance to Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria for treatment.

What did that mean? My husband and I were in complete shock. I had never experienced any chest pain or any indication that I was going to have a heart attack. There is no family history of heart attacks, I have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, my weight was good, I am not a smoker or drinker. I eat relatively healthy and I was exercising at the pool.

The next day in the catheter lab at Royal Jubilee Hospital, three coronary stents were placed side by side in my right coronary artery. Overnight, I was put on five medications and it took me months to adjust to what nurses called “the cardiac cocktail”. I was a patient at Royal Jubilee Hospital for two nights.

Adjusting to a new normal

Why take the medications? Research had proven that I, as “the 49-year-old woman in the pool”, referred to as “an anomaly” with none of the common risk factors, could lessen my risk of having another MI if I took these medications. Twelve months later, I was taken off two of these meds, but had added an anti-anxiety medication to help me deal with the on-going “worry” that often follows a life-threatening experience. I had to close that chapter of my life and begin the next.

I sat looking out at the ocean a lot. I could not take phone calls or answer emails the first month. I was easily overwhelmed by noise, light, movement. My Mom visited me daily for tea and to talk and to listen. I cannot imagine how scared she must have felt as I am her youngest. My husband and my daughter took gentle care of me. And I tried to protect my 12-year-old daughter from my reality, knowing how hard it must have been for her. Today, I think back and know she was affected in a big way.

We all have almost a visceral reaction to the words “heart attack”. Adults are shocked, and kids, including my students at school, could not understand what had happened. Some thought I had died. And I was gradually coming to terms with that.

My family, especially my older siblings, friends, and colleagues just couldn’t process that “Shelley had a heart attack. . .?!” It just did not make sense, until I began my heart journey. First, I read about what a heart attack is and gradually learned as much as I could about heart health. My husband drove me weekly to a fabulous Heart Health series of information classes being offered by Parksville Diabetes – an approximate 30-minute drive from Nanaimo to Parksville. I was the lucky one who had a husband who could get me there. I wondered what were others, many seniors, doing with NO sessions being taught in Nanaimo? After being released from the cardiac ward at Royal Jubilee in Victoria, there was absolutely no follow-up care, education, or support in Nanaimo. I couldn’t believe it and knew something had to be done.

What happened to me?

I had a need to understand what had happened to my body, but soon knew that there is no answer as to “why” it had happened. At times, I felt my body had let me down, but I knew there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.

But there were things I could do to prevent another heart attack. My doctor explained that when you have an MI, you are at the highest risk of having a second one within the first 24 hours, then the first week, first month, until you reach the first-year anniversary, when the risk has lowered but stays the same forever. Medications must be taken for the rest of your life, with possible adjustments along the way. Heart tests, such as the exercise or stress echocardiogram that I take, can indicate whether any changes should happen.

I studied enough to come to a personal conclusion. I did have one of the common risk factors – STRESS. I now believe that we all experience stress in our lives, but how we deal with stress, and how our bodies process stress, is quite different. I took a “Stress Management” course with a local naturopath and discovered that stress is essential to us, but too much stress is insidious, resulting in inflammation in our bodies. This may result in heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, etc.

I realized that though my life at 49 was not overly stressful, I had experienced being married to an alcoholic in my first marriage, had fought to keep local school music education programs going, and had become a Mom at 38 years old. Working fulltime as a teacher, combined with a busy home life, created stress and anxiety. I have always excused my “anxiety” as being normal, almost wearing a badge of honor as I would say, “Women in my family are worriers. . .if we don’t have something to worry about, we will find something to worry about!”

I learned that how I breathe is important, how to clearly say “No” at work and at home, to walk regularly, to learn the benefits of Pilates classes and to stay in the slow lane. I had been an energetic elementary classroom music and band teacher who hit the ground running every September and never stopped until June. When I returned to teaching eight months after my heart attack, it was gradual with the support and guidance of my doctor. Eventually I became stronger, both physically and emotionally, and taught four days a week until retiring last June. I became the tortoise and let go of being the Energizer bunny.

The “new” Shelley

My health is good. I have had no heart-related issues before or since my heart attack. I have never experienced angina or shortness of breath, before or since. I regularly replace my nitroglycerin spray, just in case.

I had to redefine who I am (not who I was) and accept this “new” Shelley. Then I had to reintroduce myself to the world. I looked the same, but I was different.

Recovery → A work in progress

I love being on my own path, choosing what and when I will do it. If I feel like going for a walk I go, using breathing/walking meditation. Or I attend an aquatics class and meditate while walking against the current in the pool’s river. I am addicted to Pilates on Reformer classes. I spend precious time with my 92-year-old Mom and my siblings.

Friends help me to create special memories, often a simple get-together for coffee or lunch. Books are treasured, and I enjoy fun dinners with my Book Club. TV and movies provide great entertainment, and lots and lots of laughter each day is crucial to my well-being. 😁😁😁.

Most appreciated are my Heart Sisters, who I know are there for me always. 💜

Life is good. 💖

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

As a co-founder of the Heart Sisters, I like to think that we offer women of any age who have experienced a heart event, live with heart disease, or have suffered a stroke, a safe place to be with other women who empathize, relate, and can understand the challenges. We are there to just listen, to share commonalities, and to offer suggestions. Who can relate to meds better than those who take them? Our families and friends can’t, no matter how hard they try.

Who can share stories about their “chest zipper scars” than those who have one? No one knows or can relate to our unique challenges the way our Heart Sisters do. . .feelings of despair, fear and hope, medications and the side effects, changes to our lives, our identities, our relationships, our work and our play. For example, we are there for the dreaded results of a heart test, to provide encouragement when facing a medical procedure, and to share in the celebration of good news and positive steps forward on our hearts’ journeys.

Each Heart Sister has a story to tell and sharing it is part of the journey. I recall how I just had to tell people what had happened. . .perhaps it was so that I could figure it out, try to make some sort of sense of it all.