I haven’t been posting regularly, but I am still here. And this is especially relevant today.

On this day four summers ago, on the start of Memorial Day Weekend 2017, I suffered a heart attack at 32 years old.

I had just returned to a new job from a very brief maternity leave (only 6 weeks) and was looking forward to a long weekend of baby snuggles and a nice family picnic. However, instead of spending that time on a colorful blanket in the warm sunshine with my boys, I spent it in a cold, bright hospital room in the cardiac ICU recovering from a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). It was truly one of the scariest things to ever happen to me and my family, and there were so many questions, some of which are still unanswered.

Hi, friends!

It’s been a hot minute but we’re finally all moved in. The boxes are unpacked and almost everything has a found a place in the new house. We’re well on our way to being completely settled. We’ve had a chance to meet our super nice neighbors, and we’re looking forward to when we can all safely gather and be more social. We’re excited to get to know them better and really become part of the community.

Welcome home!

Three years ago today I experienced the scariest, most traumatic event of my life: I had a heart attack at just 32 years old.

I had just returned to work from a brief maternity leave and was looking forward to a long weekend of baby snuggles and a nice family picnic. However, instead of spending that time on a blanket in the warm sunshine with my boys, I spent it in a cold hospital room in the cardiac ICU recovering from a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). Because I didn’t get that picnic three summers ago, I decided to make it a tradition, a picnic every year around May 27 to celebrate each year of survivorship. Of course this year we’ve skipped the picnic due to a lot of factors like the constant dreary weather, the pandemic, and being in the middle of packing everything up for a move.

But I’m still in very good physical health and my mental health has improved tremendously, though I still occasionally deal with some PTSD stuff. But I get to watch Sebastian sing songs and learn new things and run around, and I’m extremely thankful that I was so lucky, that I’m still here to watch him grow. I’ve always felt that all the little things count so much, but now I know just how much.

In this third year:

–I signed up for and started training for the inaugural 5K SCADaddle© for Research to run 3.2 miles and raise money for more important SCAD research. The race was originally supposed to be held in April but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, so my training has also been postponed but I’ll get back into it soon!

–I continue to be active in several online support groups, including a SCAD Survivors NC Facebook group where I can connect with and support survivors who truly understand what I’ve been going through these last three years because they’ve experienced it, as well.

–I’m still eating better. My diet has never been horrible but we now make it a habit to cook at home more and to ensure we’re eating fresh fruits and veggies.

All in all, I’m doing very well. And I’m *still* looking forward to a long lifetime full of sunny, warm picnics!

Y’all, when the doctor tells you to throw away your toothbrush after suffering through strep throat, you really should listen!

About two weeks ago, I wrote about having strep throat after I asked my friends for homemade remedies for a hellacious sore throat I was experiencing. Turns out Sebastian and I both had strep and were put on Mommy & Me antibiotics – pills for me, tasty pink liquid for him – for 10 days. The doctor had told me to replace our toothbrushes at the end of our treatment so we wouldn’t get reinfected and, being the good mother that I am, I promptly tossed Sebastian’s toothbrush and marched right to Target for a replacement and splurged on some Paw Patrol-branded toddler toothpaste. However, 

As Memorial Day came and went, so did the two-year anniversary of my heart attack.

Two summers ago, I had just returned to work from a brief maternity leave and was looking forward to a long weekend of baby snuggles and a nice family picnic. However, instead of spending that time on a blanket in the warm sunshine with my boys, I spent it in a cold hospital room in the cardiac ICU recovering from a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). It was truly one of the most scary things to ever happen to me. Because I didn’t get that picnic two summers ago, I decided that a do-over was just want I needed to celebrate my first year of survivorship. I had planned to have another picnic this year to start a new tradition, but unfortunately, Sebastian came down with a fever so we’re having to postpone it for another time.