Overworked single mom collapsed at work and wound up with a new heart

艾丽西娅·威尔逊(Alicia Wilson)快50岁的时候，日程安排得很紧. 她有一份管理合同的全职工作, 是一个忙碌高中生的单亲妈妈吗, and had decided to take on the challenge of going back to school for a master's degree.

So when Alicia, 谁超重了?, 爬楼梯后感到上气不接下气, 她几乎没有线上电子游戏飞禽走兽考虑这件事.

Then came the day at work when she was rushing to a meeting and fell, hitting her head. 在急诊室，医生说她得了脑震荡. A few days later, she came home from her usual morning walk with her dog and thought she was going to faint.

她没有，但她害怕得呆在家里不去上班. While she thought the concussion was to blame, she saw her doctor just to be safe. 他做了检查，包括心电图. Results looked off for a 48-year-old, so he referred her to a cardiologist. She began wearing a monitor to record her heart's electrical activity.

A week later, Alicia – who lives outside of Philadelphia – was finishing a paper for school while her then-17-year-old daughter, Shannon, 在为旅行收拾行李吗. 心脏监测器开始不规律地发出哔哔声.

医院打电话让艾丽西娅叫救护车. She didn't panic. It was just days before Christmas and she figured she'd be home in plenty of time to finish buying gifts and getting groceries for her holiday dinner.

在医院里，医生给她开了药以稳定她的病情. 两天后，她装上了起搏器. 当她醒来去洗手间时，她晕倒了. 医生说心脏起搏器有缺陷. 她选择在另一家医院继续治疗.

她的新医生考虑了她的症状——昏厥, irregular heartbeat and shortness of breath – and thought she might have a rare condition called cardiac sarcoidosis. It's marked by inflammation of heart tissue that can interfere with normal heart functioning.

艾丽西娅收到了一个新的起搏器. 她在平安夜回家，恢复了正常的生活. 然而，她的心跳仍然不稳定. 她的医生给她植入了一个除颤器来进行电击, if needed, 稳定她的心跳.

有两年线上电子游戏飞禽走兽，她的设备需要调整. 不过，问题不在于技术.

“很明显，我的心脏正在衰竭，”艾丽西亚说. "They started having these conversations with me about heart transplant."

首先，她的医生尝试了另一种侵入性小得多的手术. 但并不成功. 移植是她唯一的选择. She became so sick that a machine pumped her blood as she waited for a match.

Shannon, a high school senior playing sports and working on college applications, 她想退出球队和她妈妈在一起.

“不，”艾丽西娅告诉她. “你的生活还得继续."

Shannon began going from track practice to the hospital for a few hours. 她周末睡在艾丽西娅的房间里.

After a month on the waiting list, Alicia was told she'd be receiving a heart from a 19-year-old.

移植前，护士们唱着“生日快乐”." Not because it was Alicia's birthday but because she was receiving a new birthday.

几周后，艾丽西娅及时回家过感恩节. Her next big goal was getting healthy enough to attend Shannon's high school graduation in the spring.

香农开车送艾丽西亚去看医生. "My mom had taken care of me, and now roles were reversed," Shannon said.

Shannon decorated her graduation cap with a heartbeat made from gemstones. 当女儿拿到毕业证书时，艾丽西娅笑了.

“从头到尾都是令人激动的一天，”香农说. "There were tears."

七年后，艾丽西亚感觉“非常好”."

"All of us who've been blessed with a transplant know we've been given a gift," she said.

She serves on a patient and family advocacy and organ donation council at the hospital where she got her transplant. When she shares her experience, she stresses the importance of self-care.

“别以为你是女超人，去寻求帮助吧，”艾丽西娅说. “意识到自己的价值. 你值得被重新注入. 说不也是可以的."

发自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.

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