Lori describes her surgical journey.
Transcript
Well, my LV [left ventricular] function ended up becoming a grade four and they thought that they were going to have to put me directly on the transplant list. When I felt a little better, they did cardiovert me and it got me out of the heart failure and then I was living fine until the arrhythmias started becoming so much and putting the heart failure so much they inserted a defibrillator with pacemaker. The defibrillator with pacemaker it was just to help the heart failure at the time and just to help the arrhythmias. So since then all my admissions have been due to getting my defibrillator changed and heart failure and that, so I ended up within the span of – from the time I was 30 until now – I’m almost 50 – I’ve had eight defibrillators and then recently my LV function has gone back to a grade four, that they switched it over to a chronic resynchronization therapy device for end stage heart failure because my ventricles are not pumping well anymore at all.
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- Care Delivery – LoriLori says the worst part of navigating the system is going to the emergency.
- Impact on Work, School, Finances – LoriLori says 'work was my community'.
- Impact on Work, School, Finances – LoriLori says employers can be unsupportive because people with HF may need flexibility.
- Impact on Work, School, Finances – LoriLori asks what are people supposed to live on?
- Surgery and Devices – LoriLori eventually needed a valve replacement after two repairs.
- Surgery and Devices – LoriLori describes her surgical journey.
- Advice for Healthcare Providers – LoriLori describes the need for due diligence on the part of a healthcare provider.
- Advice for Women Experiencing Heart Failure – LoriLori describes the importance of monitoring symptoms.