I
live in Ontario, about 15 minutes from Niagara Falls, with my fiancée Erik and my children Kason (7) and Kylie (2). During my pregnancy with my daughter, I could not walk up one flight of stairs without having to sit and take a break, and I frequently took naps throughout the day – meaning I had a very hard time keeping up with my son. When Kylie was born, I began experiencing severe shortness of breath, but due to breathlessness being a symptom of COVID-19 I was waiting for it to ‘blow over’ before going to the doctor. In August 2020, I was walking to my car when I had what I thought was a heart attack. I had pain in my left arm, jaw, neck, and back; as well as tightness in my chest, nausea and shortness of breath. When I arrived at the hospital they checked my bloodwork, which initially was normal. It wasn’t until the second round of blood tests (used to assess if someone has had a heart attack) that my troponin levels (a type of protein found in the muscles of the heart) were elevated.
SPRING 2022 emphasis 30
