Been Busy... Here is some Q and A.

Hello Everyone!

Life is a bit busy right now and I haven't really had time to write a blog post. My boyfriend, Chris, is leaving in two days for two weeks of Marine Training so I've been spending a lot of time with him as well as doing things with my family. I will hopefully get to sit and write some more about my CHD life later. Till then I thought I would give you my answers to questions I frequently get asked.

Also, before I go... I have a Button that you can put on your blog. I just fixed it today, so if you copied and pasted it on your blog before today then you'll need to re-copy and paste it. Feel free to tell others about my Blog and carepage as well as pass my Button, CHD Awareness Montage, and CHD poem along.

Here are a few Q's and A's:

Q: Did you ever feel rebellious toward your defect? Meaning did you ever go through a phase where you did not want to take meds, follow “the rules” anymore or want to keep your appointments with your doctors?

A: Honestly, I’ve never felt rebellious in a way that I didn’t want to go to appointments, follow the “rules”, or not want to take medication. I always wanted to do whatever was asked of me or was best for me because I was afraid that if I didn’t that I would pay for in the long run by getting sick. I knew the medication, the appointments, and the “rules” was what was keeping me healthy and alive. Sure, there were some days were I wish I didn’t have to do any of it (I still get those day), but I have never went against any of it (and never will), I just do it even if I don’t want to. I’m here, I’m alive, and I’m healthy, that is what matters. I will do whatever it takes for me to live a full life even if that means taking a bunch of medications, following all the “rules”, and having hundreds of doctor’s appointments.

Q: Do you feel you are controlled by your heart or was there a stage you felt you were and moved passed it?

A: For the past few years since I’ve been diagnosed with SVT’s (Superaventricular tachycardia) and been put on beta-blockers I have felt that my heart is controlling me. I feel like I have to be careful of what I do all the time because even though I’m on beta-blockers to control my SVT’s I can still get breakthrough ones if I’m stressed, sick, nervous, etc. Breakthroughs don’t happen all the time, but when they do I get chest pain and that scares me. So, I try my best to watch what I do and I’ve had to learn to stay calm when I do get some breakthrough SVT’s, but it’s hard and I sometimes feel like my heart is in control. Though, the past year I’ve been slowly moving past this stage as I try to learn ways of keeping my mind off my heart and realizing that I will be ok. I have a strong faith, a supportive family, wonderful friends, and a loving boyfriend that is by my side.20I know I will be ok. Thinking positively (easier said than done, but I try my best), having fun, and just living for the present is important especially for a heart patient.

Q: How was it socially for you growing up? Was it hard making / keeping friends?Do you feel like people treat you differently once they know about your heart? Does that ever keep you from opening up to friends or companions?How do you handle answering your friends when they ask about your quality of life?

A: I'd like to stress that every child is going to be different in this area as well. Growing up for me was tough, no doubt about that. I was so attached to my parents and older brother growing up that I was afraid of most people. When I started Preschool I didn't want to go and didn't want to be alone. I didn't have any social skills when it came to talking and relating to kids my own age as I had been isolated most of the time due to my parents wanting to keep me healthy . I actually went to Kindergarden twice because I was having such a hard time relating to kids my age. My first Kindergarden I went to a public school, then went to a private school for my second time around (private school is where I stayed until college). Back when I was small they had no early intervention classes like they do now for CHD kids. It was and still is hard for me to make friends. I'm a very shy person, though it was ten times worse when I was younger. It was hard making and keeping friends. Once I made friends many didn't have the same interests as me or we just didn't get along well, so it didn't work out, it never had anything to do about my heart condition usually.

Yes, I do feel like some people treat me differently once they find out about my heart condition and how serious it is. This happened alot more when I was in elementary school and high school then it does now and I think the reson for that is kids are too young to understand and know better in how to treat someone alittle "different" then them. I also get alot of people (more so now that I'm older) being nice to me just because of my health and I can recieve alot of sympathy from people. I don't like to be friends with these kinds of people if the only reason why they are talking to me and being nice is simply because I have a heart condition. I don't mind recieving sympothy from friends or strangers, but if they do it all the time and don't even try to treat me like any other normal person or like me for my personality I tend to get upset because I like to be treated like everyone else unless I'm sick or something is wrong. For the people who treat me differently simply because of my heart condition, yes I tend not to open up to them. As for my friends, my true friends don't treat me differently, they understand how I feel about how I want to be treated. I open up alot to my friends and I let them know what to look for if something happens and whatnot. My close friends and bestfriends are trained on what to do and what to look for and how to act around me, they try to understand and they are my support system. Some of the questions my friends have asked me do have to do with my quality of life and I handle them with telling them the honest truth, I want to be open and honest with my friends on what is going on with me. Sometimes it is hard to answer those questions as they can get me emotional, especaially questions about my mortalitly. Though with everything in life, I try to look on the positive (not at all an easy thing to do sometimes). My life has not been easy and I never had alot of friends, most people just didn't want to stick around when things got tough for me. The past few years with my minor heart issues I've had and my eye surgery I really found out who was really my friend and I came to find out I had about three. That's ok with me. I move on. Life isn't always easy, but I say that having one friend is better than having none. Never settle for less then the best of friends because when it comes down to a CHDers health we are going to need a friend through thick and thin. If someone doesn't like them because the are different or treats them different all the time then they are not worth having as a friend.

If anyone wants to see more Q's and A's that I have answered you can go to: http://www.inspiringhearts.blogspot.com/ an Adult CHDer with HRHS owns this blog and she blogs not only about her life, but has other adult CHDers talk about theirs... I'm under "Meet Lauren"... go check it out, it is a wonderful blog. Also, if anyone has any other questions for me don't be afriad to ask. I'm putting my e-mail on the right side bar if anyone wants to contact me privately.

Until next time... May God Comfort, Guide, and Bless you on your Journey.

With LOTS of Hope, Love, and Faith,

♥