Ever since I can remember, I've been very involved in athletics. Growing up, I played for every recreation league softball, basketball, volleyball, and soccer team offered. I also started participating in gymnastics and competitive swimming at a very young age. Eventually, swimming and long distance running became my favorites. As a result, I quit other sports and focused on these two grueling activities. I've spent hours in the pool and on the track, pushing my body to its limits. While I have always been fairly successful in these endeavors and enjoyed my achievements, the discovery of my heart murmur was devastating.
All of the women on both sides of my family have an autoimmune thyroid disease called Hashimoto’s. This genetic predisposition …show more content…
Surprised a heart murmur had gone unnoticed for 15 years, the nurse practitioner recommended an echocardiogram. Although, if it hadn't caused any issues previously, the abnormality was likely nothing.
An echocardiogram is a sonogram which explores the systems of the heart. Pictures and short videos are taken to aide in the diagnosis of cardiac abnormalities. Because I was under 18, we had to go to Quinter, the only town that employed a pediatric certified technician in western Kansas. One weekend, my mother and I drove an hour and half to the dingy hospital. The indecorous building did not ease my mother’s apprehensions. She had been telling everyone we knew and asking for prayers; yet, I was not worried.
After we checked in, the technician led us to a small, cold room and began the echocardiogram. The tiny room was freezing and the test seemed to last forever. Additionally, the lady bruised me from pressing so hard and being so thorough. Lacking a physician’s license, she couldn't tell us if any abnormalities were present in my heart; however, she warned against swimming too far at championships in the following week. My already tense mother became even more distressed as a …show more content…
I chose not to attend school on Monday, but decided to attempt Tuesday. On my first day back, I struggled through English, while my heart raced, head was foggy, and body felt like I had been through a washing machine. Second hour, when I walked up the stairs to biology, I blacked out and began dry heaving. Nauseous and ears ringing, I made it across the hallway. Dr. Rogers allowed me to rest in the storage room with the lights out and my head between my knees, while Angela called my parents. My mother took me home, but following that ordeal, I quickly began to recover.
One month later, we traveled back to Denver for my follow-up appointment. Another echocardiogram was completed to check the location of the device. After Dr. DeMaria examined the results, he rejoiced that everything looked perfect. My heart was healing beautifully, and without delay I could begin running and participating in other physical activities.
On May 13th, at my sixth month follow up, my doctor cheerfully discovered that my heart was completely healed. Furthermore, he explained if someone examined me without the knowledge of my cardiac history, they would find no malformations. At this time, we also realized that my heart beat no longer sounded anomalous. When listened to, my heart created the typical “lub dub”
All of the women on both sides of my family have an autoimmune thyroid disease called Hashimoto’s. This genetic predisposition …show more content…
Surprised a heart murmur had gone unnoticed for 15 years, the nurse practitioner recommended an echocardiogram. Although, if it hadn't caused any issues previously, the abnormality was likely nothing.
An echocardiogram is a sonogram which explores the systems of the heart. Pictures and short videos are taken to aide in the diagnosis of cardiac abnormalities. Because I was under 18, we had to go to Quinter, the only town that employed a pediatric certified technician in western Kansas. One weekend, my mother and I drove an hour and half to the dingy hospital. The indecorous building did not ease my mother’s apprehensions. She had been telling everyone we knew and asking for prayers; yet, I was not worried.
After we checked in, the technician led us to a small, cold room and began the echocardiogram. The tiny room was freezing and the test seemed to last forever. Additionally, the lady bruised me from pressing so hard and being so thorough. Lacking a physician’s license, she couldn't tell us if any abnormalities were present in my heart; however, she warned against swimming too far at championships in the following week. My already tense mother became even more distressed as a …show more content…
I chose not to attend school on Monday, but decided to attempt Tuesday. On my first day back, I struggled through English, while my heart raced, head was foggy, and body felt like I had been through a washing machine. Second hour, when I walked up the stairs to biology, I blacked out and began dry heaving. Nauseous and ears ringing, I made it across the hallway. Dr. Rogers allowed me to rest in the storage room with the lights out and my head between my knees, while Angela called my parents. My mother took me home, but following that ordeal, I quickly began to recover.
One month later, we traveled back to Denver for my follow-up appointment. Another echocardiogram was completed to check the location of the device. After Dr. DeMaria examined the results, he rejoiced that everything looked perfect. My heart was healing beautifully, and without delay I could begin running and participating in other physical activities.
On May 13th, at my sixth month follow up, my doctor cheerfully discovered that my heart was completely healed. Furthermore, he explained if someone examined me without the knowledge of my cardiac history, they would find no malformations. At this time, we also realized that my heart beat no longer sounded anomalous. When listened to, my heart created the typical “lub dub”