Being an adult with a heart condition

I have talked about how I was as a child with a heart condition but what about when I got older and became an adult. Well. If I had to walk so far, then I would have to stop along the way and get my breath back. I would also get a stitch in my side. I couldn't walk too far or too fast. I would get that stitch, and/or get out of breath by the time I got to my destination. I certainly couldn't run that far, either. For the bus, yes, but that was it. The last time I remember really running for a bus was several years ago now. My mum and I had got to one bus stop to see the bus we needed to go on to where we wanted to get to. The bus had to go round a main route which included traffic lights to get to the next stop. We walked fast with a bit of running. We made it and got on the bus, but it really puffed me out. I had a stitch in my side, I was out of breath, and I had a pain in my stomach as I was gasping for air. It was the worse I had been that I recall. I vowed not to do that again. I don't think we did.

Now that I have had the surgery and don't have the hole-in-the-heart, I think I might be all right that way. I don't know yet as I now walk with a stick due to balance issues caused by the perimenopause. So at the moment just running a little bit makes my balance even worse. I would like to think that I would be able to move like that without the stitch and the breathlessness. We shall see. I plan to build up my walking over time when it is warmer.

#HeartAwarenessMonth #hearthealth #adultcongenitalheartdisease

If you want to find out what happened to me so that I no longer have that hole in the heart, then it is all in my memoir which can be found either via my website, The Book Dragon bookshop, Amazon or all other digital platforms as an ebook. 

Be empowered to help your health

 One of the things that I regret not doing during my journey of having endocarditis is tracking what happened to me properly. I wrote in my diary now and then, appointments on a calendar but not everything that I went through esp the symptoms getting worse. It all ended up in my head and on hospital letters. When I wrote my memoir, I started to get an idea about creating a journal for this purpose. I actually have this in my memoir that I intended to create one to help others who have either been in my situation or could be. Well, at the beginning of this month, it came to life. I wrote it all over the last months and published it this month. The contents of the guided pages reflect all that I went through and mention in my memoir. So, if you are experiencing a serious illness, including endocarditis and any other heart conditions, then check out my journal. It will empower you to know what is going on with your health. You can find it here. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Endocarditis-My-Journey-journal-condition/dp/1915114055

Or if you know of any one else, esp hospitals, that might be interested in a copy, please let them know.

Be empowered. 

Patience is a virtue...

It certainly was for me the last week when I had been trying to publish my latest children's book on Createspace. I didn't complete the first setup to start with, then there was a problem with the cover, then the interior file, then the cover, then inside again. The cover was sorted out by my illustrator. It was accepted. The interior file (contents) aren't perfect as there are no page numbers and the text isn't the same length on each page (like the others) but I am going to get it sorted out very soon as my illustrator has said she does interior formatting, and I will ask her to help me out to reformat it. Anyway, Tuesday just gone I finally got Susie out the in world. Her story is now on Amazon, available at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Susie-Jiggling-Jumper-Rainbow-School/dp/1720452539/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1528460311&sr=1-1&keywords=susie+and+the+jiggling+jumper.

This story is close to my heart because Susie is based on me when I was at primary school, with Asperger's and heart problems (I still have both).

I hope you will buy it and spread the word about Asperger's and heart problems that go with it.