I am a Circle of Red Ambassador. This is my personal “Why”.
After fighting to get back on my feet following a financially debilitating divorce, I miraculously purchased a house. It was a tough, hard fought journey. I had made it to that unspoken benchmark - buying a house. It felt good.
My rental house contract was expiring, and the landlord refused to go month-to-month. I lived and worked in Tulsa, had a house full of furniture, and nowhere to move since this was a temporary situation until my house closed. Stress.
A friend offered me their rental house in Perkins. It was a remodel construction zone - popcorn ceilings were being scraped, debris piled high and just bare slab flooring. I gratefully accepted the offer and put nonessentials in storage. Stress.
What I thought would be just a few weeks of commuting, turned into several months. The financial damage that occurred during my marriage wreaked havoc on getting my financing approved. The impact of all these compounding stressors created a suffocating pressure building inside of me. Stress.
Closing Day: My parents came to help me get settled in my new house. Phone rings…the closing was pushed back three days. My parents needed a place to stay; a hotel in Stillwater was our only option. On my drive to join them, I felt this sudden overwhelming sense that I was going to be ill. I pulled over on the highway, opened the door, leaned out, and didn’t even have time to unbuckle or get out of the car. I felt fine, but this “symptom” was vaguely familiar. Stress.
The following day I decided to catch up on laundry before my move; however, in pushing the limit of the root laden sewer line, the floor drain under the washing machine flooded the house. This added push broom duty to my list, to squeegee the water out the back door. Stress.
After my dance with the push broom, my heart was racing and continued to race through dinner. I decided a trip the Emergency Room in Stillwater was in order. Once connected to the monitors, all hell broke loose and instantly nine people were attending to me. My heart rate was well over 200 bpm and my heart was in AFib. STRESS!
I am truly blessed to live a healthy life, but I know compounded stress may negatively impact MY body. Stress has a way of slowly boiling to a point where even those with the highest tolerance are susceptible to its building force.
Please…listen to YOUR body, pay attention to YOUR symptoms, and if possible, know YOUR family history.
I would be truly honored if you would support my fundraiser for the 2019-2020 Go Red for Women Luncheon in honor or memory of someone close to you impacted by cardiovascular disease. Invest to help bring forth awareness that will save lives. Give to Live. Be Heart Strong!