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Patient Diary -- Kyle McIvor |
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My name is Kyle and I am a 37 yr old single Mom to two terrific kids. Greg is 17 and Stephanie will be 13 on the 11th of May. I was dx with ph in March of 99. My journey with this disease started in Nov. of 98. I started with the flu and never got over it. I had been treated for bronchitas, gerd and everything in between. After many, many trips to doctors and er visits I was admitted in March. I think what actually made them admit me was that I had gained 20lbs in fluid. I am built small so this extra weight made me look like i was pregnant. I also had my sister Karen there with me and she was very insistant,(we had been to the er about 30 times at this point)that she was not taking me home and they had better admit me to find out what was wrong. Well they did and we found out after all the tests, the doctors came to my room (which by the way I was by myself) and proceded to tell me I needed a heart and lung transplant to survive. I'm sure everyone can relate to how I felt. I was given a death sentence, I was in total shock, here I am 36 with two kids to take care of. The wind was blown right out of my sails. At this point all I could do was think about my children and what would happen to them. I have a great family and I know that they would take care of them, but hey I'm their Mom, I need to take care of them. The next day a pulmonary doc came in to see me and told me about Dr Gaine. For two months until I had my appointment with him, I was in limbo, petrified, depressed, you name it I've been there. The good news is there is help for this dreaded disease. I am currently on 270mg of procardia, coumadin and hctz. I have been in the hospital a couple of times since my dx, but they have been able to adjust my meds for me. I know if it weren't for my boyfriend Keith, my children, sister, mother and brother, I wouldn't be able to have made it this far. I've always been a fighter and this is a fight I don't intend to lose. So if your new to this disease don't give up, be strong, fight like you never have before, because your fighting for your life. But most of all keep the faith and pray to God, he will help more than you realize. God Bless and Breathe Easy. |
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