The Secret and a Contest

Jules over at Just Jules is doing a giveaway for one of her handmade pieces of jewelry. To be eligible for the giveaway she is asking you to answer the question "I am..." using a black marker on a sheet of white paper and taking a picture of it and sharing it on your blog. She plans to use the pictures on her blog in a photo project. If you'd like to enter just follow the link to her blog and follow the steps. Jules actually lives just a few hours from me in Minnesota.

So this was my entry... and no I'm not pregnant :) But I did go to the doctor. Last Thursday. The dermatologist. To have my moles checked. Glamourous, yes. So guess what she found?

Are you sitting down? What I am going to share with you is going to sound familiar... I had a rapid heartbeat. And I didn't think much of it. I could have been anxious wondering if I was going to have moles removed. We do have a strong family history for melanoma, and I don't mess around with too much sun. But at some point I do expect Dr. Kelly to tell me that one of my 562 moles does look suspicious.

However, my moles were fine. So with the coast clear, the nurse decided to check my heart rate one more time... she got the same number. Is this beginning to ring a bell for you as much as it did for me? I couldn't help but think of our sweet Stellan and Mckmamaand his long road with SVT, or supraventricular tachycardia.

So a normal heart beats at a rate of 60 to 80 beats per minute. Mine was at 134. Both times it was checked. So Dr. Kelly insisted I call my doctor and get it checked. I went to my internal medicine doctor on Monday. My heart rate was 136. I had lab work and an ECG. Guess what it showed? That my heart was beating rapidly :) But the technical, medical term for this? Tachycardia. It seems there are several forms this can take and that is what needs to be determined next.

What are the odds? I thought I was following Stellan's story so closely because, well just look at him and all of his cuteness. But was there another reason my path crossed with his? And MckMama, and her uncanny ability to digest large amounts of medical jargon and make sense of it and post it all? What a Godsend that has been.

And maybe my own words are coming to fruition. Do you recall my fondness for the E.E. Cummings poem "I carry your heart in my heart?" These were the words I used in a post back in December:

"I've loved this poem for so long now. And every time we lose yet another loved one, I carry them in my heart. It wouldn't surprise if a doctor ever told me my heart was enlarged. I'd tell him or her the truth. Its big because its filled with a lot of hearts I've carrried with me for years."

So I am getting some more tests scheduled and have a referral to a cardiologist. And I am taking it very easy. Other than having a cold I haven't felt too poorly. But I have been short of breath lately and a little lightheaded at times.

I've always anticipated I'd have to be careful with my moles. It wasn't a huge surprise either when I had my gallbladder out at 29. But it never really occurred to me, the other thing I could end up getting from my Dad along with the smattering of moles, is his big heart :) both figuratively and literally.

And now my secret is out.