good! L f e

DianaOLIVER

Kenansville

“Some time ago, I started having heart problems and I went to a cardiologist in another county. It was determined at that time I needed a pacemaker, so they put one in. That’s when things really started to go wrong with me.

“I knew something had to be wrong because I kept passing out. I had to quit my job because I couldn’t drive a car to get to work. We kept going back to that doctor and he said it was all in my head; that I wasn’t used to having a pacemaker. Then they told me I needed therapy. My husband said we needed to go to another doctor, preferably one in a different county. So we went to Orlando and they gave me a bunch of tests. They put me on a tilt table — and I passed out immediately. They diagnosed me with neurocardiogenic syncope. People who have it get lightheaded if they stand up too fast and can often faint.

“I still wasn’t satisfied. I went online looking for a physician who could treat this latest diagnosis and that’s how I found Dr. Qamar. I fell in love with him right away. He’s so charming and understanding. He put me at ease and said, ‘Let’s do some tests.’ He knew something wasn’t right and it wasn’t all in my head. We found out the problem was with my pacemaker. I went to Tampa for the surgery — they discovered that my first doctor had put my pacemaker in backward! It had too many leads. Some of them were broken. It kept shorting out all the time. That’s why I was fainting. I couldn’t believe it. I was there for two days while they worked to fix it. They punctured a lung in the process. It was horrible, horrible.

“When I got back to Dr. Qamar, everyone knew I was traumatized. They were so kind. Not just Dr. Qamar, the whole staff. They embraced me, hugged me. When I was on the table getting tests they talked to me, one of them rubbed my feet. It’s been awhile and I am much better now. I still get a little lightheaded but I’m learning to do things differently.

“The best part of my time with Dr. Qamar is that one day he casually asked my husband how he was doing. My husband said he had a little trouble with his legs. Next thing you know, Dr. Qamar is testing him. He found blockages everywhere — legs, chest, kidneys. Turns out the medication my husband was on was all wrong. Dr. Qamar ended up putting about 12 stents in.

“We’re just ordinary people. But every time we come in, everyone treats us like family. In all my life I never met a doctor like Dr. Qamar. He fixed me and I know for certain he saved my husband’s life.”