Heart4Ash (Skwig)

Another day in this lovely hospital because my stinking INR will not get were in needs to be. INR means International Normalized Ratio, its a number that describes your bloods clotting factor. Doctors want my INR to be around 2.0 but I am stuck at 1.5, a normal person should be below 1.0. So the higher the INR the thinner the blood. Because I have an LVAD they are very picky about my INR because they don't want a clot to form in my LVAD. But, if my INR gets too high I bleed, so it's a fine line we are walking until I get my new heart. On a higher note, my mom and I did some crafts.... getting ready for Christmas and my baby boy Wrigley came and visited me, some of you are thinking Wrigley is a terrible child's name but he is actually my French Bulldog :)

Part of my blog is to create awareness about stroke, heart disease and becoming a donor!!

Top of the List as of 2pm ... It was decided yesterday because of my frequent “GI” bleeds that I would be listed at the top of the heart transplant list. They would usually wait at least 4 months after receiving the LVAD and then sometimes even longer than that. The way the listing goes is there is 1a, 1b, 2, 5 and so on, “a” being the highest priority. Normally one with an LVAD would be placed at “1b” and then when the Doctor's  think  it's  appropriate, they  would list you “1a” for 30days, if you don’t get your heart within that 30 days you would drop back to “1b”. But again because of the GI bleeding, I will be listed at “1ae” e meaning exception…. Basically, I will stay at “1a” status until I receive my new heart. So surreal, and tragic for the other family, but I will be so Thankful and Blessed for my new heart to come. Only bummer is I will have to do the whole open heart surgery again. 0 notes

M y Journey to Receive a New Heart... After 5 weeks of being on an emotional  rollacoster , I am starting a long overdue blog about my Journey of heart failure. Instead of starting at my most recent complications dating back 5 weeks ago… I actually want to jump back 5 years to when my life took a turn down a bumpy road. In 2009 I was playing soccer for Idaho State University, and as part of my sophomore summer training I had the hardest time completing 6 minute mile test, something with my effort and training I should have been able to do with ease. I initially thought “Sports Asthma” but the inhaler didn’t help. Long story short, a chest X-ray confirmed my heart was enlarged and I was diagnosed with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Six months later I had a Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Device implanted. This device was to help my heart function as well as it possibly could,  pacing  it and  shocking  it when needed. Blah Blah The hardest part of this new journey for