How catching ANOTHER virus may have saved my life

OCTOBER 2011

I KNOW THE X-RAY DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THIS BUT THIS IS HOW I IMAGINE MY HEART LOOKS THESE DAYS

22 Oct

The day after returning from a trip I started to feel sick with flu like symptoms. Something nobody tells you is the drugs & medications from doing IVF (especially as many times as me) weakens your immune system & you catch everything. Went to Dr straight away as we were starting IVF Round 9 in November & I wanted to be over whatever this was. Dr thought it was a virus, gave me some antibiotics & sent me on my way.

29 Oct

1 week on and medication has done nothing and virus getting worse, not better. Dr was about to test me for whooping cough (as that's how I presented & sounded) but then I reminded her I had it a year ago. Possibility it may be a bacterial virus so a change of medication & a nasal swab.

2 Nov

Trip back to the Dr for test results and it seems like a very nasty virus that won't budge so another medication change & a chest x - ray ordered. When the x-ray came back it showed I had a partial collapse of my lower lung BUT the thing that concerned me the most is my heart showed to be larger than what it should be on the X-ray. I lost a dear friend many years ago to a heart condition (cardiomyopathy) he had been young, fit & healthy & just collapsed one day so I was a little scared. Dr tells me she will review my medical history and the x-ray's I had 1 year ago and get back to me about what to do next. Before we do anything she wants me fully recovered from this virus, before doing any further testing.

5 Nov

Dr J knows I have been sick but am slowly recovering from this virus, we get the go ahead to start the needles for this round of IVF as by the time egg pick up rolls around I will be fully recovered. What I didn't know yet is getting this virus would be a blessing in disguise & help diagnose a problem that may never have been found.

They say everything happens for a reason & this time they were actually correct.