My name is Jody Nelson and here is my story...
How it started.
My story with heart disease began last December, 5 days before Christmas. It was pretty much a typical day. I was getting ready for Christmas and never dreamed I would have a heart attack. As I love to make goodies for the holidays, I was on my second batch of caramels; we won’t discuss the first batch! Anyway, as I was standing over the stove, stirring away, I got a sharp pain in my right shoulder, yes my right. I just thought I had put my shoulder out. I went outside to walk around to get some fresh air and walk it off, well it didn’t walk off. When I got back in the house, my husband happened to be home, he said to me, “Jody you’re having a heart attack.” I thought to myself “no way!” not at my age…I’m only 45 years old. Just then, I started to feel clammy and nauseated. I knew then something was wrong. The first thing my husband did was run to get me a couple of aspirin. I chewed them & put them under my tongue – I always have bottles of aspirin in my house and vehicles, thinking when my husband goes hunting and has a heart attack – the aspirin just may save his life…never thinking it was going to happen to me.
Innovis Health
After that we were off to the hospital. We live on a farm about 15 miles from Fargo and we knew it would be a wait for an ambulance to come. So we thought the ambulance could intercept us somewhere along the way. My husband was talking to dispatch the whole time and they were asking questions about my symptoms. By the time I arrived at Innovis Health, my left arm and hands felt heavy. I was greeted by this amazing team from Innovis, I compare them to a Nascar pit crew, they were fast and efficient. The team took me into the emergency room and rapidly we were on our way to the cardiac cath lab. It was then my life changed. I coded. The next thing I remember is waking up and being hooked to a ventilator and many other things. They didn’t think I would survive the night. They told me they defibrillated me….meaning they shocked me…somewhere around 30 times, yes that’s 30, and that amazed me!
My heart attack.
I ended up having 2 blockages. The one on my left was 80% blocked and the one on my right main artery was 100% blocked, that is the one that caused the heart attack. They put 2 stents in which I thought was a piece of cake! The team at Innovis Health called me the “Christmas Miracle.”
Now, about my health history before my heart attack. I am an active, hard working person at home. I had absolutely no warning signs of heart disease, no pain no nothing until that day in December. The one thing I do have is high cholesterol. A high of about 240 but I was on cholesterol medicine to bring it down and control it. So, I thought I was good in that area – no need for concern. The other strike against me was family history. My mother’s family all had heart disease. Family history is huge. I am the youngest of 6 girls…everyone one of us is on cholesterol meds. Being the youngest, I always thought I should be safe for a while, I have 5 older sisters to get heart disease first! Well, I was wrong! It started with me.
What should you know?
Heart disease and women. They say 1 out of 3 have heart disease and that is true, my 54 year old sister just found out she has calcification in her artery. That makes 1 out of 3 just within my family. Okay, so what have I done to change my lifestyle? I attend Cardiac Rehab at Innovis Health 3 times a week and I love it. I am eating healthier – more fruit, more greens and yes…lots and lots of fiber…love that flaxseed! Another thing I have done is know my numbers, the good cholesterol, the bad and the tryglycerides. It is so important to know and understand all your numbers!
The last thing I have to say is listen to your body. I know we have aches and pains and put things off – but heart disease is so different in women – if you have anything new that comes up, go in and get it checked out and hopefully, you will also become to be known as a survivor!