On August 30, 1998 I gave birth to my beautiful daughter Hailey. My pregnancy was normal up until the last month which consisted of severe swelling, anemia, heart palpatations and shortness of breath. All of these symptoms were passed of as being normal. Two days after coming home from the hospital I stepped on the scale and saw that I had gained 20 lbs since giving birth to my daughter. On the third day after being released from the hospital I noticed that I was extremely tired and short of breath. I started having very bad pain on the side of my neck that went to my jaw and then vomiting. I called my Mom and she called 911. I was treated for low potassium and was told I would be discharged when my IV bag was done. Then my heart monitor started going off because my heart was in a funky rythym and was racing at 240 bmp. The next day I woke up in the ICU and was told that I had PPCM w/ an EF of 31%. I recovered fairly quickly and lost 50 lbs in a week!! At my 3 week check up my EF was 40% and my 6 month check up my EF was 55%. I am one of the lucky ones that stared death in the face and had a miracle recovery. My heart goes out to each and everyone of you that has suffered and continue to suffer from this silent killer. I have had no more children as my cardiologist was highly against it. I struggled for a long time with anxiety over the fact that I was so near death and yet recivered so quickly. Even after diagnosis I was very poorly informed about what was going on with me and that I should just be thankful that I recovered and let it be at that. It was not until I did most the research on my own that I learned exactly what had happened to me. I am thankful for sites like this that are here to support survivors.
My Details
- Date Diagnosed: 04/09/1998
- Child: 2
- Initial EF: 31
- Current EF: 55
Story By Ronda N Ryan Lemmen