My Stabilizing Force.........

The past two weeks have brought crashing disarray and quiet victories. On the work front, my department has undergone "restructuring" as they say, and sadly my dear friend and fearless mentor, Paul, is no longer here to help me navigate what lies ahead for careHPV. Some of you may know him from our wedding, he flew in from Germany to read at our wedding, only to dash off to the airport and return for work. I cannot thank him enough for all that he has done for me on so many levels and I know that he will remain a part of our lives. Paul is the essence of careHPV. It's success will largely be a result of his persistence and dedication to helping others.

And in the midst of the chaos, there comes order, and quiet- which is always a blessing when it is your health. As my husband knows, I seem to be the "rarity", the patient that doesn't fit the profile, not the 99 cases out of 100. I was born with a congenital heart defect- 3 extra electrical pathways creating 3 heart arrhythmias that I was blissfully unaware of of until they decided to make me pay attention. Growing up I assumed that everyone felt the way I did. I certainly was not the picture of the "typical" arrhythmia patient, specifically with the severity that was hidden. I played every sport I could get my hands on growing up, and have always been at the gym 5 days a week, pushing as hard as I can (with a six pack to prove it). In September 2008, 6 weeks before I met Gary, I had a life-changing procedure, a cardiac ablation which essentially burned the pathways from my heart tissue. I walked out of the hospital and into a new life......worried that I couldn't feel my heart beat. I told my doctor that my heart was quiet, and he smiled. Quiet. Like when the power goes off and all of the whirring and background noise just stops. And you breathe. Then the other shoe dropped. Last summer I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. Not common at my age or outwardly evident considering my level of physical activity. We sought help with a wonderful Endocrinologist and so far so good- after correcting a severe vitamin D deficiency there has been no further bone loss. Gary went with me to see my primary care doc last week to give him the good news. Dr "Jo", as Gary calls him, has been with me through everything. He diagnosed my heart defect - the Cardiologist missed it- and the osteoporosis. He patiently coordinated my care never leaving any causes unexplored and always remaining calm. Always listening, never doubting, always caring. He looked at me last week and smiled big and said "you are doing great, you are stable" then turned to Gary crossed his arms and said "so, you must be the stabilizing force here". My sweet husband looked so proud, smiled and said "yes".

Yes, honey you are my stabilizing force. Thank you for loving all of my 1 in 100's , my noisy heart, and little bones :-) Thank you for going with me to every doctor's appointment, holding my hand, giving me magazines to distract me (Wine Enthusiast works best), and laughing with me at the one who shall be called "Dr Evil" (the doctor who didn't work out so good).

I love you-

Laura