07/17/2022
A little about me...
Born and raised in Nevada.
College for two years.
Moved to California. Everything went wrong (not California's fault.)
Started dabbling in m**h at age 22.
Had a baby with the wrong guy. Lost custody. Spiraled from that for 27 years.
Then, in 2016, a trip to the hospital started my crawl out of hell. The right side of my heart was trying to shut down. It scared the hell out of me.
But...not that much. I was still using - just not as much.
After a while, I began to notice more heart issues and also breathing issues. After many appointments with cardiologists, doing stress tests, getting a heart catheterization, etc., a UC Davis pulmonologist said to me: "The pressures in your heart are 120 and you have what's called pulmonary arterial hypertension...you shouldn't be alive. If you continue like this, you'll be dead in six months."
There is no "official" cure for PAH.
That was all it took.
On July 22, 2018, I gave it ALL up and made a decision to live.
A friend took me to a spiritual meeting in the mountains at a resort. That got me plugged back in with MY higher power.
Slowly I've gained the respect of my family back. Mom. Brother. And my daughter, who loves me very much.
I've been blessed with a second chance. I work on it every day.
To keep my head clear, and demons at bay, I love rock hunting and rock stacking. I'm now Dremel wood carving and scorch marking also.
I'm enjoying the peace and happiness of sobriety. And since there is no cure for PAH, about 21% of those who have it die after three years.
YET, here I am...three years after my doctor told me I'd be dead.
Call it a miracle. Call it luck. Call it whatever you want. No matter what you call it...I'm still here.
And with meds and due diligence on my part, I'm a miracle baby:)
I'm breathing easy, and I hope my story and or my carvings inspire you.
Sincerely,
Tanya
Aka...TK
