SO that happened...

[fantazia01]

It's good to be back but, the reason I've returned to Neopets is less than spectacular.

Not long ago, I had a very busy and stressful life, not enough hours in the day to get things done but I did my best every single day to do as much as I could. I was drinking energy drinks, grabbing meals on the go, getting up before sunrise most days and finally dragging myself to bed in the wee hours just to get up with only 4 to 6 hours of sleep to do it all again. I had lost my younger brother last year and pretty much did a nose dive into doing anything and everything just to keep my mind off it and keep BUSY. It went that way for months and at christmas time it was even worse. I was going nonstop, driving all over the place every day, taking care of all the demands chrstmas adds to life while, on top of it all, I was helping family and friends get ready for the holiday too.

On christmas eve it all came to a crashing halt. I had a major heart attack, almost died and, according to my cardiologist, I SHOULD be dead. He told me I'd had the kind of heart attack that not many people survive and the only reason I did was because I was just plain lucky. I'm not old, I'm a young woman but, I am from a family that has a genetic flaw, it's a cardiovascular issue. I was born with it, however, I was told as a kid that I was only mildly affected, it shouldn't cause a problem. Because of that, I never thought about it, not until that widow maker forced me to realize I'm not super human.

Needless to say, life is much slower now and I have a lot of free time. So, here I am, back on Neopets after several years. It's good to be back, I love the site, I just wish the circumstances were more pleasant.

I guess I'm putting this out there to say to anyone who's reading this, don't think you can do whatever you want and not have to face consequences, there always are a few and some are pretty bad. Make good choices, don't stress so much, eat right, get plenty of rest, stay active but be smart about it. Take care of yourself because there are people counting on you who need you. Friends, family, everyone around you, no matter what your circumstances are there is someone who needs you to be there. Don't be selfish like I was, don't take chances with your health, just take care of yourself and always remember...you're only human, your body isn't as tough as you want to believe, you have to take care of it because you never know...abuse yourself too much and you might end up where I was, flat on your back in an ambulance wondering what the heck just happened. Don't make that mistake, stay safe, take care of you and by doing so you'll be around for all the good things life has to offer even if right now isn't the best. You never know what tomorrow has to offer you, be there to find out  

Have a Fantastic Day! <3

[charelan]

Thanks so much for sharing that - sometimes it takes a personal anecdote like that to get some perspective on what is important.

I'm glad you're ABLE to be back!

[nicolelouise]

Someone was looking out for you.  Wow, that's a story.  I'm glad to hear you made it through that experience and have learned a thing or two along the way.  Are you getting some help with dealing with the loss of your brother?  Or has this experience altered how you're processing your grief?  Yeah, I reckon you've got some guardian angels watching over you.  Good luck and welcome back.

[suzanoberle]

Wow, what a wake-up call.  At least you've found the positive in this experience, and offered to share it with others.

Here's wishing you a full and speedy recovery.

[casperiscaptain]

So sorry for the loss of your brother! I am sending you well wishes!

I also have a cardio defect so this is somewhat of an eye opener for me. Thanks for sharing <3

[fantazia01]

Liked all the posts it would allow me. Thanks to you all. Yep, everything is better these days, I'm being taken care of by a great team of doctors and my family have been health Gestapo ever since it happened. They won't let me have anything good to eat! They took away the bacon and almost took away my coffee too until I proved it was okay by showing them an article in the American heart association website plus a confirmation from my cardiologist that proved coffee is actually GOOD for your heart! XD I'll be starting cardiac rehab soon which will help, everything that can be done is being done, it will be a slow process but it's all worth it. I'm just grateful for every day now, I shouldn't be here so, every single day is a gift.  

@casperiscaptain - Keep an eye on that defect. I didn't take mine seriously and overlooked all kinds of warning signs not knowing what was happening. Shortness of breath, constant fatigue, pain in your neck, jaw, shoulders, chest (not just the left arm and chest like you see on tv) nausea. All those things are warning signs that you're having a heart problem. A heart attack can happen at any age and it's different in women, we don't have the same symptoms as men. I've learned a lot since this happened, I was very active, ate healthy (a lot of vegetables, never was a fan of candy or fast food but I'd grab a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast or just a salad for lunch and sometimes would skip dinner all together. Not good.) Even though I'm not the typical age for a heart attack, even though I lived an active and somewhat healthy lifestyle..it STILL happened. Get 8 hours sleep as often as possible, eat right, exercise, keep an eye out for warning signs, check with your doctor and have yourself screened since you know you have a defect, it may be like mine, mine got worse with age til that artery finally blew. It didn't take much, just stress and pushing myself too hard. Be safe and good luck!

Once again, thanks to you all, bless your Hearts <3

[Yuiina]

Hello there,

Thanks for sharing your story, I'm sorry that such thing happened to you. 
I didn't had the same situation as you but something happened to me 10 years ago that changed my life 180º completely and I still live with it, we learn to enjoy life in other way and regret many things before the event.

Hope from the bottom of my heart that you're feeling better now :) 

P.S: Oh and welcome back to neopets