Wake Up Call

Let me explain the pause in blogging - and please read this post carefully because it contains an important message for all my female readers.

My agenda last week included prepping to teach handspinning at WEBS, dyeing summer yarn share samples, helping Holly give lambs their CDT boosters, getting ready for the Open Farm on the 27th, collecting sheep and goat fecal samples for inspection, sowing another round of salad greens and staking the tomatoes, attending my nephew's high school graduation in New Hampshire, working on my book . . .

My "to do" list didn't include having a heart attack.

 But that is exactly what happened to me in the biggest OMG moment of my life. 

You should know right away that I'm fine. Shaken, but fine.  I can't tell you how lucky I am - first of all to be here and secondly to have a very good prognosis, since my heart attack was somewhat atypical, not caused by coronary blockage. 

I'm 47 years old, active, reasonably fit. I eat healthy. Mostly. I don't drink or smoke. I certainly didn't think I was a candidate for a heart attack which is why I dismissed the signs and symptoms and I waited WAY TOO LONG before acknowledging that something was seriously wrong and heading to the hospital last Wednesday. 

 Since then I've learned a number of interesting things about women and heart attacks. Women often experience heart attacks differently than men. Often there is no one moment of crushing chest pain. 

Each year a frighteningly high number of women die either because they mistake the signs of heart attack (often for indigestion) or are misdiagnosed. For days prior, I'd been feeling like I was having the world's worst case of acid reflux.

And I've also learned that, as in my case, stress, not blocked arteries, is often the culprit.

It was a huge wake up call. An exclamation point at the tail end of one of the most chaotic spring seasons. So for the past few days I've been resting, reading, hanging out with Mike and my pupsters. As you may know, sitting still doesn't come naturally to me, but I'm seriously heeding my doctor's directives. Mike is taking good care of me. Holly is taking good care of the sheep. Yesterday I stepped into the pasture for just a minute for a few quick lamb-hugs with Mistral and Georgia.

I'm making a few changes for the next few weeks, to rest, recover, regroup, and work on my book.  I don't want you all worrying about me or the sheep so I'll let you know how we're doing. Look for blog posts once a week - on Wednesdays - for the month of July. 

Fortunately, I've had some unbelievably generous offers of back-up help for Holly and Mike with the sheep. I'll take them.

And I'll be getting help in the studio, so we can get the summer shares dyed and on their way over the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing whoever can stop by on Sunday for the Sheep Shares Lamb Visit Day, though I'll probably let Mike and Holly give the grand tour. Bring your knitting, hang out with me and the lambs in the shade of the maple on the front lawn.

xo

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Comments

[Lori]

Oh Barb, I am so sorry you had to go through that. But I am very glad that you are ok!!!! Please take it easy and listen to the doctors. I wish I lived closer so I could help with the sheep. You're in good hands with your crew. I'm sure the sheep missed you too. Sheep hugs are a good stress relief so get plenty of those. Please take it easy and I will keep you and the whole farm in my prayers!!! xoxo

[Laura]

I am so glad you are okay. Thatis the most important thing! You are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Peggy D]

"How does she do it all?" is a question posed by many of us who have followed your activities with concerns for your sheep, lambs, dogs, and family. Please, take care of yourself 1st. Do you think Mistral would let you sleep in her bed?

[Dana H.]

Barb - how scary! I am so relieved you are doing ok now. Rest up and never underestimate the healing power of cuddling with dogs, sheep, llamas and alpacas.

[Allison]

Oh Barb, how frightening! So very glad you are OK. What a tough lesson taught the hard way. Your new mantra, courtesy of Aesop - "Slow and steady wins the race". :^)

[moiraeknittoo]

Holy smokes. I'm glad you're recovering, and re-evaluating, and relaxing. Please take care of yourself!

[Bubblesknits]

So very glad you're okay. Heart attacks are definitely nothing to take lightly, so I'm glad you're resting and taking it easy. Know you're in my prayers.

[Manise]

OMG Barb! How awful. I am so grateful that you are okay. Yes women do present differently than men regarding heart attacks. And yes we tend to put things off for too long. This has been an extraordinarily stressful Spring for you. Wishing you a more peaceful summer. No worries about the Summer Shares.They'll get done when they get done. Hugs to you!

[Ronnie]

Barb,
I am so thankful you are doing fine. I am so sorry to hear about your heart attack. Shocked doesn't begin to explain how I feel. Thanks for the wake-up call to all of us women. You are in my prayers for a speedy recovery.

[Hester from Atlanta]

I am so glad you are OK. What a shock. What a scary thing. I certainly will pay more attention to my acid reflux problem when it acts up. Wish I lived closer so I could come visit and help out. Best Wishes - Hester

[Pat Philbin]

Barb, happy to hear that you're all right! Wish I lived closer so I could help out at the farm.

[The Other Kristen]

Yikes, how terrifying. And how wonderful that you are all right. It's frustrating that even when we try to talk to medical professionals about stress, sometimes we're not heard. Your experience will help me remind myself to be more insistent when I think that something's wrong.

Rest, think happy sheepy thoughts, and get better!

[ellen]

Barb,
I am glad that you are safely home and have chosen to share your experience with other women. We teach cardiac health to women through my work (Public Health), but a personal story like yours makes it all so real. Ahhhh, take a deep breath and regroup. Serious health events may send us flying on our backsides, but with them comes the gift of defining priorities more clearly. The touch of a lamb, your dog, and your loved ones are healing. I send wishes for good health your way.

[Cindy in Happy Valley]

Had a similar experience myself. Mine took the form of chest pain that waxed and waned. Felt like a pulled muscle-I thought it was a side effect of medication. To make a 2 week (I wish I were kidding) story short, the nurse in my docs office said "Go to the ER, women present heart symptoms weirdly", so I did. When the dust settled, five hours later, they diagnosed pneumonia (which explained the waxing and waning). None the less, I learned my lesson--in a very scary way. Pay attention to your body.
Take it easy...glad to see you're on the mend.

[Konna]

I was wondering what you were up to....never thought about a heart attack! So glad to hear that you are OK and resting. I was also wondering, along with Peggy, if Mistral would share her bed with you! Glad the lambs gave you huge hugs! We are the same age so thanks for the heads up! Enjoy the peace under the maple.....

[Laurie]

I can't believe it. But in retrospect, it isn't quite as surprising. Coronary spasm is unpredictable, and yes, goes along with unremitting stress. I'm so glad you are okay, and listening to what your body is telling you. Yikes.

[Carole]

I'm so sorry this happened to you but so relieved to hear that you are alright. Rest and relax and stick to your doctor's orders.

[CatieP]

I'm glad you are doing okay and taking the doctor's advice. I hope that you continue to recover well in the coming month(s).

[Susie]

Thank goodness you are better -- and that the prognosis is good. Take care of yourself! Best wishes!

[Megan]

Take care of and be very nice to yourself, Barb! We will all still be here waiting for and cheering you on. I prescribe more sheep hugs! ;_)

[Johanna]

I'm so glad you were properly diagnosed, and are taking doctor's orders seriously. I'm only 28, but I've had it drilled into my head that women's symptoms of a heart attack are most often completely different than men's. Glad you're sharing this knowledge with others, so that more catastrophes can be avoided.

Rest well!

[Lynn]

Yikes! I'm SO glad you're OK! I've been lucky with my two bouts of chest pain - the work-ups revealed nothing. One was pleurisy, one was transient excessive stress (the doc said just cope with the stress; helpful, that was). So, please do figure out how to cope with the stress - a little time every day to do nothing, a week's vacation every 3 months (yes, that really is 4 weeks a year; do you take weekends or holidays off, hmm?), massages, more hired help, cut back on blogging, whatever it takes. And I'm not a club member, but if you want company knitting on Sunday, I'll be happy to come visit.

[Rebekah]

I read your blog often but don't usually comment. Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm glad you are okay. And I'm making an appointment with my doctor as over the past several months I've had times of really bad pain in my chest all over and up into my ears that I keep thinking is indegestion, but I have never ad indegestion before. So I think I should maybe get it checked out after all. And hopefully its just indegestion but since high cholesterol does run in the family, maybe its time to take a second look.

[Lisa E]

Glad to hear you are ok and following doctor's orders. Rest, relax, destress. And knit :)

[Heidi]

Barb, I'm in shock as I read, but relieved that you are writing because that means you are alive! I'm so very glad that you are still with us on this earth. Thank you for you insight, which I've put into my brain. I too sometimes think I do to much between a full-time job, raising my two children, my family commitments, and my ever growing interest in fiber arts. You've put me on the path of "thinking" about my life, thank you. Hope your health returns soon and that you can de-stress.