Bloggerlife.blog

10/07/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Healthy heart

In February of 2021, right in the midst of the pandemic, I had an episode that I can’t explain. One morning I woke up and walked the 15 feet into the bathroom and had to sit on the edge of the tub to catch my breath. I thought it was a fluke, until this kept happening to me. I tried to do my daily walk and had to stop frequently to breathe as best I could. That very day I was scheduled at Flo Valley Community College to give COVID vaccine shots.

I reported for duty after puffing my way the short distance from the parking lot to the area where people were already gathering to get a shot. Thankfully I got to sit at a station and wait for the next person in line. I hardly had to walk at all so I managed to get through the day and gave I don’t know how many vaccinations. At the end of the day there were a few shots left over so I got a COVID shot myself and again puffed my way to my car.

I wondered if I was getting pneumonia. I’ve been hospitalized twice for severe pneumonia, so that was definitely a possibility. Really, though, it is a disadvantage to be a nurse who develops a mysterious ailment. My go to approach is to wait it out and hope it goes away. Not very nursey, I might add, but common among those of my chosen profession. First, I run through all of the possible diagnoses and try to match the symptoms with one of them. Then, when I’ve decided I’m not dying, I choose to wait it out and expect that it will disappear quickly. Of course, I don’t tell anyone what’s going on, because that would mean an acknowledgement that something is wrong with me.

This time around I only kept getting worse, and Jan was advising me to call our doctor. I went to see him and was scheduled for a variety of cardiac tests. Now, the odds of me having heart trouble are slim – there’s no family history of it, and I’ve always had normal EKG’s, X-rays and lab work. Anyway, in I went for a doppler echocardiogram and a stress test. To my complete surprise my heart was having an episode of heart failure. It wasn’t serious enough to be in the hospital, but of concern enough to place me on a couple of preventive drugs that I take to this day.

I’ve never had another episode, but my Primary Care 12 year old doctor made a cardiology referral anyway, just to be on the safe side. Yesterday I met a very nice heart doctor who reviewed the results from 2021 and ordered a heart ultrasound to have on record. I got a quick EKG and he gave me a good report on the current state of my heart. I’m so grateful to doctors who talk to me like I am adult enough to understand the information, and who treat me like a “partner” in maintaining my health. He listened very carefully to my heart and lungs. Then he pulled up the 2021 tests and showed me exactly what was going on back then. Watching my heart muscles labor through the test was enlightening, and enough to admit that if this happens again, I will not wait a week for things to get better. Bad nurse! Bad nurse!

In the last year, both Jan and I have taken the very simple advice to keep ourselves as healthy as possible in our 70’s and 80’s. It’s not rocket science, but it does involve life style changes. A better, more balanced and nutritious diet. A program to reduce excess weight. Keeping regular doctor’s appointments. Scheduling preventive tests. A simple program of regular exercise. A willingness to respect our aging processes and to seek care appropriately. 

The rewards are exceptional. The work is worth it. For me, at Level 76, (this is my new measurement of age – forget birthdays, instead, celebrate a “level up” every year!), it is the only way to go.