My Story

Hey Guys!
My name is Courtney and I would like to share my story with y'all! When I was 5 years old I experienced fainting spells. I mainly got them when I was by myself and never told my parents. Then on Thanksgiving night, I fainted in front of my entire family. I was rushed to the hospital and got a pacemaker implanted. The first implant somehow was not put in correctly and I could not stop bleeding. They took me in again and it was a success! It was weird going back to school (kindergarten) because all of the kids were kind of freaked out with my bionic-ness. Two years ago (15 years old) my pacemaker finally stopped working as I was at golf practice. It was pretty scary, I felt like my heart was incredibly heavy and that the whole world could see it pounding. I went to the hospital and got a new pacemaker put in! About two months later we got a call that after a recent check up, there was a problem. For some reason my new pacemaker wasn't working correctly. We went back to the hospital that Christmas and got a new one! Everything has been great since then and I am as healthy as ever! I'm about to be a senior in high school and excited for my future. However, I am very self conscious about my two ( pretty big ) scars :( I know that I should be proud of them, but it's pretty hard when I go swimming and I feel like everyone's staring. Anyway, I wouldn't trade those scars for my life hahaha :) I owe it all to God. Could not have made it this far without him!!! I'd love to hear y'alls stories and make some pacemaker buddies! God Bless. :)
-Courtney

4 Comments

GOD's many gifts

by francine1 - 2013-06-07 11:06:46

Glad you are doing so well, there are many stories through out all the forums, take a look.

welcome

by Tracey_E - 2013-06-08 09:06:01

So glad you found us! There are some others your age here but they don't always post often because they're busy being teenagers. I hope they'll say hi.

They found my heart condition when I was 5, also. And I, too, didn't let on to my parents how often I got dizzy or how bad I felt sometimes. As a mom now, let me just say don't do that to your parents!!! If something is wrong, they need to know. (taking off mom hat)

It may feel like everyone is staring, but odds are they don't even notice. I'll tell you something I've learned. If I am active and look healthy and forget my pm is there, everyone else forgets it's there, too. I don't talk about it, not because I'm ashamed of it or embarrassed by it, but simply because I rarely give it a thought. It doesn't keep me from doing anything I want to do and I don't let it define who I am.

I'm a mom now, my daughters are 15 and 16. I'm a girl scout leader, I own a business, we hike or ski every vacation, I work out 5 days a week, I'm on the board of directors of an animal rescue group and active at church. People see a lot of things when they look at me, but I'll bet a heart patient is the bottom of the list.

Good luck with your senior year! Keep the faith, that will get you through any bumps in the road. God doesn't give us anything he doesn't also give us the strength to handle. I really think living with something like this makes us stronger.

Courtney

by Grateful Heart - 2013-06-08 11:06:02

I just wanted to say welcome to the club! It seems you have your priorities straight....good for you.

You sound like a great young woman. There are members your age here, they just haven't been along yet.

Enjoy your senior year and all that comes after.

Grateful Heart

Thanks!

by CourtHerbert - 2013-06-08 12:06:44

Tracey, your comment is really inspiring! I've defiantly learned not to keep things from my parents, haha :) Your story is really encouraging! You sound like a great role model and very successful! I hope to follow your great path! Thank you for sharing with me! Really made my day. God bless!!!

You know you're wired when...

You run like the bionic woman.

Member Quotes

Hi, I am 47 and have had a pacemaker for 7 months and I’m doing great with it.