Mended Hearts Open Forum

Hello, I am Chad. I am 45 and live near Indianapolis. I'm probably a bit on the outside here. I'm one of 1-3% of the population. I had a heart attack on 9/17. I've never smoked, drink one alcoholic on new years. While I am a cancer survivor, the doctors are adamant cancer wasn't a factor in my situation. I have no family history. I don't have any friends that have been through this. A month prior to the heart attack, I had blood drawn as a part of my yearly checkup and nothing was concerning at all.

I'm here and I don't know why. I was rushed to the hospital 9/17 and 1 stint was placed immediately with a 100% blockage. While there, they found another spot that was 70% blocked so they put 2 stints in there. While in the ICU, I slipped on the floor and now have complications, maybe a hernia, maybe a muscle tear, maybe more. And they found a hematoma last week, maybe 2 after today's discussion. I'm scared and alone.

I have a wife of 23 years, an 11 son, 14 daughter, 20 son and his almost 1 year old grandson that I love so dearly. I am supposed to be the strong one here, and it's just not happening right now. In my roles, I feel like I'm failing. I work fixing homes after fires and floods. It's very physical so going back to work soon is far out of the picture.

I need surgery for the hernia. But I can't have that until I'm off the blood thinners that I just started. And, once all that heals up, then I can start cardiac PT. So working again in full capacity seems like a pipe dream 9-12 months away at this point.

This diet thing is causing lots of stress that I should be avoiding. The thing is most of my work is done running from job to job. So once I get back, I don't see how I can make this diet work. And that doubt takes me to dark places where I just don't want to fight to survive. It's not a suicidal thing, it's that I just want peace and to let nature take its course if this is my time. I've had so many near-death experiences. I don't know how much more I can mentally, emotionally, financially and physically endure.

On 10/8, I cross 15 years since my cancer diagnosis. And part of me says, "you got an extra 15 years, be grateful and stop fighting." I have a long list of things I wish I could be doing right now. But at the present moment, I just don't see any of it getting done. I've been talking with a therapist and a good friend of mine that is a preacher. But, I don't see how life is going to bounce back at least the way it was before. And, I'm struggling to find the willpower and strength to begin. I'm in that post-hospital waiting period. Nobody gave me good directions at discharge. I was given a few small thoughts about limiting sodium to 2g per day and try to reduce cholesterol. It's okay to do at home, but when you only restaurant options are Applebees, Burger King and Dairy Queen or some mom and pop shop that doesn't have nutritional information, I can only see more failure down the line.

I am so frustrated. Nobody can explain how this happened, yet they all know that this diet is going to keep it from happening again. I don't follow that logic. They told me the 100% clog was a blood clot. But where it came from or how to avoid recurrence, it doesn't seem like the choice of a spicy chicken sandwich over rice cakes matters much. I'm not sure where things go from here, but I thought it would at least be worth the shot to join here and see if there's another 1-3% out there that is a little further ahead than me that can show me that doing all of this might yield some better result than losing a year of life

Hello, I am Chad. I am 45 and live near Indianapolis. I'm probably a bit on the outside here. I'm one of 1-3% of the population. I had a heart attack on 9/17. I've never smoked, drink one alcoholic on new years. While I am a cancer survivor, the doctors are adamant cancer wasn't a factor in my situation. I have no family history. I don't have any friends that have been through this. A month prior to the heart attack, I had blood drawn as a part of my yearly checkup and nothing was concerning at all.

I'm here and I don't know why. I was rushed to the hospital 9/17 and 1 stint was placed immediately with a 100% blockage. While there, they found another spot that was 70% blocked so they put 2 stints in there. While in the ICU, I slipped on the floor and now have complications, maybe a hernia, maybe a muscle tear, maybe more. And they found a hematoma last week, maybe 2 after today's discussion. I'm scared and alone.

I have a wife of 23 years, an 11 son, 14 daughter, 20 son and his almost 1 year old grandson that I love so dearly. I am supposed to be the strong one here, and it's just not happening right now. In my roles, I feel like I'm failing. I work fixing homes after fires and floods. It's very physical so going back to work soon is far out of the picture.

I need surgery for the hernia. But I can't have that until I'm off the blood thinners that I just started. And, once all that heals up, then I can start cardiac PT. So working again in full capacity seems like a pipe dream 9-12 months away at this point.

This diet thing is causing lots of stress that I should be avoiding. The thing is most of my work is done running from job to job. So once I get back, I don't see how I can make this diet work. And that doubt takes me to dark places where I just don't want to fight to survive. It's not a suicidal thing, it's that I just want peace and to let nature take its course if this is my time. I've had so many near-death experiences. I don't know how much more I can mentally, emotionally, financially and physically endure.

On 10/8, I cross 15 years since my cancer diagnosis. And part of me says, "you got an extra 15 years, be grateful and stop fighting." I have a long list of things I wish I could be doing right now. But at the present moment, I just don't see any of it getting done. I've been talking with a therapist and a good friend of mine that is a preacher. But, I don't see how life is going to bounce back at least the way it was before. And, I'm struggling to find the willpower and strength to begin. I'm in that post-hospital waiting period. Nobody gave me good directions at discharge. I was given a few small thoughts about limiting sodium to 2g per day and try to reduce cholesterol. It's okay to do at home, but when you only restaurant options are Applebees, Burger King and Dairy Queen or some mom and pop shop that doesn't have nutritional information, I can only see more failure down the line.

I am so frustrated. Nobody can explain how this happened, yet they all know that this diet is going to keep it from happening again. I don't follow that logic. They told me the 100% clog was a blood clot. But where it came from or how to avoid recurrence, it doesn't seem like the choice of a spicy chicken sandwich over rice cakes matters much. I'm not sure where things go from here, but I thought it would at least be worth the shot to join here and see if there's another 1-3% out there that is a little further ahead than me that can show me that doing all of this might yield some better result than losing a year of life

Hello, I am Chad. I am 45 and live near Indianapolis. I'm probably a bit on the outside here. I'm one of 1-3% of the population. I had a heart attack on 9/17. I've never smoked, drink one alcoholic on new years. While I am a cancer survivor, the doctors are adamant cancer wasn't a factor in my situation. I have no family history. I don't have any friends that have been through this. A month prior to the heart attack, I had blood drawn as a part of my yearly checkup and nothing was concerning at all.

I'm here and I don't know why. I was rushed to the hospital 9/17 and 1 stint was placed immediately with a 100% blockage. While there, they found another spot that was 70% blocked so they put 2 stints in there. While in the ICU, I slipped on the floor and now have complications, maybe a hernia, maybe a muscle tear, maybe more. And they found a hematoma last week, maybe 2 after today's discussion. I'm scared and alone.

I have a wife of 23 years, an 11 son, 14 daughter, 20 son and his almost 1 year old grandson that I love so dearly. I am supposed to be the strong one here, and it's just not happening right now. In my roles, I feel like I'm failing. I work fixing homes after fires and floods. It's very physical so going back to work soon is far out of the picture.

I need surgery for the hernia. But I can't have that until I'm off the blood thinners that I just started. And, once all that heals up, then I can start cardiac PT. So working again in full capacity seems like a pipe dream 9-12 months away at this point.

This diet thing is causing lots of stress that I should be avoiding. The thing is most of my work is done running from job to job. So once I get back, I don't see how I can make this diet work. And that doubt takes me to dark places where I just don't want to fight to survive. It's not a suicidal thing, it's that I just want peace and to let nature take its course if this is my time. I've had so many near-death experiences. I don't know how much more I can mentally, emotionally, financially and physically endure.

On 10/8, I cross 15 years since my cancer diagnosis. And part of me says, "you got an extra 15 years, be grateful and stop fighting." I have a long list of things I wish I could be doing right now. But at the present moment, I just don't see any of it getting done. I've been talking with a therapist and a good friend of mine that is a preacher. But, I don't see how life is going to bounce back at least the way it was before. And, I'm struggling to find the willpower and strength to begin. I'm in that post-hospital waiting period. Nobody gave me good directions at discharge. I was given a few small thoughts about limiting sodium to 2g per day and try to reduce cholesterol. It's okay to do at home, but when you only restaurant options are Applebees, Burger King and Dairy Queen or some mom and pop shop that doesn't have nutritional information, I can only see more failure down the line.

I am so frustrated. Nobody can explain how this happened, yet they all know that this diet is going to keep it from happening again. I don't follow that logic. They told me the 100% clog was a blood clot. But where it came from or how to avoid recurrence, it doesn't seem like the choice of a spicy chicken sandwich over rice cakes matters much. I'm not sure where things go from here, but I thought it would at least be worth the shot to join here and see if there's another 1-3% out there that is a little further ahead than me that can show me that doing all of this might yield some better result than losing a year of life

Hello, I am Chad. I am 45 and live near Indianapolis. I'm probably a bit on the outside here. I'm one of 1-3% of the population. I had a heart attack on 9/17. I've never smoked, drink one alcoholic on new years. While I am a cancer survivor, the doctors are adamant cancer wasn't a factor in my situation. I have no family history. I don't have any friends that have been through this. A month prior to the heart attack, I had blood drawn as a part of my yearly checkup and nothing was concerning at all.

I'm here and I don't know why. I was rushed to the hospital 9/17 and 1 stint was placed immediately with a 100% blockage. While there, they found another spot that was 70% blocked so they put 2 stints in there. While in the ICU, I slipped on the floor and now have complications, maybe a hernia, maybe a muscle tear, maybe more. And they found a hematoma last week, maybe 2 after today's discussion. I'm scared and alone.

I have a wife of 23 years, an 11 son, 14 daughter, 20 son and his almost 1 year old grandson that I love so dearly. I am supposed to be the strong one here, and it's just not happening right now. In my roles, I feel like I'm failing. I work fixing homes after fires and floods. It's very physical so going back to work soon is far out of the picture.

I need surgery for the hernia. But I can't have that until I'm off the blood thinners that I just started. And, once all that heals up, then I can start cardiac PT. So working again in full capacity seems like a pipe dream 9-12 months away at this point.

This diet thing is causing lots of stress that I should be avoiding. The thing is most of my work is done running from job to job. So once I get back, I don't see how I can make this diet work. And that doubt takes me to dark places where I just don't want to fight to survive. It's not a suicidal thing, it's that I just want peace and to let nature take its course if this is my time. I've had so many near-death experiences. I don't know how much more I can mentally, emotionally, financially and physically endure.

On 10/8, I cross 15 years since my cancer diagnosis. And part of me says, "you got an extra 15 years, be grateful and stop fighting." I have a long list of things I wish I could be doing right now. But at the present moment, I just don't see any of it getting done. I've been talking with a therapist and a good friend of mine that is a preacher. But, I don't see how life is going to bounce back at least the way it was before. And, I'm struggling to find the willpower and strength to begin. I'm in that post-hospital waiting period. Nobody gave me good directions at discharge. I was given a few small thoughts about limiting sodium to 2g per day and try to reduce cholesterol. It's okay to do at home, but when you only restaurant options are Applebees, Burger King and Dairy Queen or some mom and pop shop that doesn't have nutritional information, I can only see more failure down the line.

I am so frustrated. Nobody can explain how this happened, yet they all know that this diet is going to keep it from happening again. I don't follow that logic. They told me the 100% clog was a blood clot. But where it came from or how to avoid recurrence, it doesn't seem like the choice of a spicy chicken sandwich over rice cakes matters much. I'm not sure where things go from here, but I thought it would at least be worth the shot to join here and see if there's another 1-3% out there that is a little further ahead than me that can show me that doing all of this might yield some better result than losing a year of life