“When I say I have a new life and new heart, I mean it.”

My father died of a heart attack when he was 52. Like my father, my mother also suffered from heart disease. She had angina (chest pain) but was misdiagnosed. In 1989, she had a triple-bypass and died the next morning, a few hours after surgery. She was 62 years old.

It took nearly two years before I was “officially” told that I had congestive heart failure.  I too, had been misdiagnosed until I was nearly 40 years of age.

Knowing my family health history, I wanted to do all that I could do to avoid heart disease.  In my twenties, I went to see a cardiologist and for most of my life, I was physically active. For many years I danced several times a week. But in my late thirties, I was always tired and it seemed natural to gain weight because my work, while challenging, required me to be at my desk all day. I was a technology manager at an international investment banking firm and a single mom with a very limited support network. I ate at my desk and worked 14-hour days. There were two days out of the week during which I worked 20 hours per day, I worked this schedule for a year.

Warning Signs

It wasn’t until one evening, after working all day and feeling more tired than I had ever been in my life, that things began to change for me.  As I lay on my bed, it felt as if I was sinking into the mattress.  When I attempted to get up, I couldn’t move.  So I remained there for a moment longer and thought, “Boy, I’m beat.  I’m worn out.”  I tried to get up again and couldn’t.  So, I called out to my family.  My significant other came in quickly and wanted to know what was wrong.  I told him I couldn’t get up.  I was tired.

“Do you need to go to the hospital,” he asked. “No, I’ll just go to the doctor in the morning, please take me then,” I said. He insisted, “You should go now.”  I refused.  My daughter was there.  I didn’t want to alarm her.

That night I could not lie down, I sat up in bed with the air conditioner on the coldest setting and the fan blowing directly on me.  Little did I know, my lungs had collapsed.

The next morning I went to the doctor’s office and she did a workup on me including an EKG.  She wanted me to go to the emergency room immediately.  I said “No.”  I had a 14 year old at home by herself and I wasn’t going to go to the ER and leave her alone. She gave me a prescription and said to fill it immediately. I got the prescription filled, took the medication and began to feel better. I wasn’t able to secure a place for my daughter to stay until after midnight. I continued to hold on and arrived at the ER in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

I remained in the hospital for more than three weeks without a real diagnosis until someone suggested that a cardiac catherization be performed.  The results: I had an ejection fraction (measurement of the capacity at which your heart is pumping, 55-70% is normal) of 35%.  But, that was only the beginning.

A Leap of Faith

On my 42nd birthday, I was set to go on vacation. I packed my bag, but as usual, I became short of breath.  I called my neighbor and asked her to take me to the hospital.  She sighed and said, “Which one Nellie? By this point, I had been to just about every hospital and cardiologist in two states. I sighed, “How about Newark Beth Israel?” So that’s where she dropped me off and said good-bye.

After a three-week stay at the hospital, I was released but was back less than two weeks later. They examined me closer and a clinical trial director came to speak with me about an experimental procedure that could perhaps improve my quality of life.  I would be the first person in New Jersey to receive it.

They asked a myriad of more in-depth questions about my condition. I had to pass a series of tests to even be considered as a possible candidate for the trial and procedure.  I went through yet another cardiac catherization. We had to move quickly, I had an ejection fraction of 10% at that time.  The tests were laborious and I was barely making it in those days. Breathing was difficult and walking 3-6 feet was near impossible without stopping.

I went back home and sent a mass email to my friends and colleagues advising them of what was going on and asked for their opinions. But I already knew what I was going to do.  I was going to try to live.  I was hesitant because it was the same facility where my mother had her surgery. But here I was, 13 years later and 20 years younger than she was at the time. Technology had grown leaps and bounds, I reasoned.  So I did as she had –I took a leap of faith!

I’ve never been afraid to die.  I had hope and faith.  But I’m still human.  I prepared myself, going as far as selecting my coffin and making my funeral arrangements.

I was told that with congestive heart failure, I would have a life expectancy of five years.  I was nearing the end of my expected outcome.  It was divine intervention. The outcome has been astounding. My zest for life has returned 100 fold!  I have a better quality of life.

A new chance at life

My life is not even remotely recognizable from what it had been.  I can no longer do many of the things that I could do previously.  I have a new set of requirements and priorities for my life.

As a woman living with heart disease, I’ve had to place what’s best for me first.  This has taken on new meaning not only for myself, but for the way others view me and respond to me. I’ve removed unnecessary stress from my life which doesn’t support my overall heart health and well being.

When I say I have a new life and new heart, I mean it. I am truly blessed and thankful to God that I am still alive today.  Now, as a motivational speaker and minister, I speak about all matters of the heart, from a mind-body-spirit perspective.

My life has been and still is one of abundance.  To whom much is given, much is expected. The more I give of my heart, the healthier mine becomes. This is my raison d’etre, French for reason for being!

Nellie Wosu is a motivational speaker, minister and founder of Encouraging Words MInistries. For more information, visit www.encouragingwordministries.net

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