Whats in a name? A lot. I thought I would explain a little about the title of this blog, Victory of the Heart.

A little about me:

When I was first diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease, also known as Heart Disease, the first thing I did was grab my phone and search “27 year old with heart disease”….and nothing came up. Everything was written for those who were 40+ years of age.

….The thought in my head…great, these doctors wont know what to do with me.

…then things went a little like this….

Multiple cardiologists told me as I laid in a hospital bed, “we don’t really have any data for someone your age whose disease has progressed so much”.

Uh..is this supposed to be reasurring? I thought to myself.

…And then it came….

Having a Complex Case:

“you are a complex case”, the first doctor said. I have heard that phrase multiple times in the past year from pretty much every physician I encounter. I even had one doctor say, “Good luck to your cardiologist”, uh thanks!? 

I hate that phrase and for the first six months of living with the disease, I saw myself as a complex case. Then one day after hearing it multiple times from a hospital bed, I took my identity back, I have a complex case, but I am not a complex case.

It was the first victory of the heart in a long time. I stopped labeling myself as a complex case and began to see myself as Kristin. I live with multiple incurable diseases, but I am not my diseases. Life with a serious condition is often times a battle, from the physical battles we face, when our bodies just don’t feel well that day, to the emotional battles of living with our diseases, to the spiritual battles we all face in life.

Thus the title Victory of the Heart. This blog is to capture the little moments that often end up being the big victories and to the big moments that often up being even greater victories. Its a victory of the heart, whether it be spiritual, emotional or physical….and, its a victory of the heart…to be courageous enough to share my story with others.

Why start the blog and share so much of your story?

This blog has been started to hopefully help others who suffer with these diseases and to keep distant family and friends up to date with whats going on. It will be a mix of my journey of my health and my walk with God.

I have decided to share a lot of details about my condition, because we often learn things from medical websites. Why not hear it from someone who lives with the symptoms listed? What’s it really like? I would have loved to read a blog that talks about what a sternum feels like 1 week , 1 month, 1 year post surgery.