Diana's Profile

Hello, my name is Diana and I am a survivor who was lucky to get a second chance at life. I never expected to die from running on a treadmill, but I did. Luckily, my son was in his room, which was near to where I was exercising and he was alarmed when he didn’t hear me run. I pulled the cord to stop the belt from running and I managed to collapse on the couch. My son tried to wake me but he realized I wasn’t responding and performed CPR while my daughter called 911. I lost bodily fluids when I died and I didn't realize it until I laid in the stretcher and I my pants were wet. Once I was resuscitated, I remember letting out an agonizing scream because my sternum hurt from the chest compressions. I was hospitalized and a series of test were done. The end result was that I had moderate aortic stenosis and the cardiac surgeon did not think I needed surgery yet. Actually, he said I had a couple of years before I would need it. I wasn’t comfortable with his medical assessment and I decided to get a second opinion. I have a friend who is a cardiologist that studied at Harvard. He recommended that I see an interventionalist at Massachusetts General Hospital, who was his professor during his residency. He made a phone call and I traveled to Boston in a week’s time. I underwent a series of tests and by the end of the day, the results were in. It so happened that the “moderate stenosis” assessment from the previous echocardiogram was actually “severe” and the doctor told me that I needed an aortic valve replacement within three months. Every imaginable emotion went through me, but I knew that I needed to stay positive. I was operated in Boston a month later, the day after Thanksgiving in 2011. It has been close to six years since a bioprosthetic valve was implanted and I have been well. I am very fortunate to have had my son at home that day and a dear friend who was able to direct me to a facility that has a good track record in performing cardiac surgeries. My biggest suggestion to anyone who is diagnosed with a serious illness is always get more than one medical opinion and trust your gut feeling.