Yesterday I went to work as normal. I arrived at work at 645 am and picked up my shift assignment. I felt a bit short of breath, but thought nothing of it. My shift assignment was relatively an easy one. I just had one patient that was a bit more work than the other ones.
As the day progressed, the shortness of breath became worse. I was having a hard time catching my breath, and when I did I felt relieved and carried on with my day. Then it became a lot worse, so I went to my nurse and asked if she would do my vitals. Turns out that my blood pressure was 165/95. It alarmed her, and she asked me to talk to the charge nurse. He told me to go to head over to employee health after I spoke to the other charge nurse and he said I can't tell you to go to the emergency department, but I would strongly advise to. Needless to say he drove me there.
After an EKG, an x-ray, some blood tests it was determined that I had suffered a pulmonary embolism or blood clot to my lungs. REALLY? Not again! Yes it's true. I had suffered this same plight almost 6 years ago, but with that one I had warning. That one started in my leg, and then went to my lung. My poor husband was despondent, and we both shed some tears while in the ED. Needless to say it was a very scary awful day. On top of this, my poor husband lost his job.
Wait a minute! I'm eating a whole foods plant based diet! Isn't that supposed to help with all illnesses? Isn't that supposed to make us feel like we are on top of the world, and exempt from things? Well that's what I thought until I started talking to people, and digging for answers. I was ready to throw in the towel and go back to eating a SAD (standard American diet). Why not, I got sick, and this sickness has killed people, what did I have to lose really!
There are some illnesses that diet just isn't going to help. I may be very well predisposed to getting blood clots. It might be a genetic problem. I will see a pulmonologist tomorrow and talk with him about why in the world I'm getting these. Eating this way did not cause my blood to become sticky. It couldn't have. There has to be another reason. Many of my siblings have had them, and my father died from one.
Just because we eat this way doesn't mean everything will be peachy. We all have trials and complications. There will always be something that diet alone cannot cure. That doesn't mean though that this diet or lifestyle rather is not a good one. It truly has changed my life. It has saved some innocent animals, and made a difference on this good planet we call earth. We just need to hang tight, continue what we are doing and push forward.
Now there are some things that I think I'm going to tweak a bit. My family likes to go out to eat, but now that my husband lost his job we won't be doing that. That alone will help to get the oil out of my diet, and since I will be cooking whole foods and I don't have money for processed then I should be able to be SOS (salt, oil, sugar) free. Okay, none of us are perfect and I have cheated a lot with sugar. It's truly my downfall. Now is my chance to really get my butt in gear. I guess my point to all this is to never ever ever give up. I wouldn't recommend doing it this way, but it is what it is, and we all get to a better lifestyle one way or another.
Cheers!
2 comments:
Well, that was a "kick in the pants" kind of day, wasn't it? If you wouldn't mind, please let us know what you learn from the pulmonologist. I replied to one of your emails not too long ago telling you about my experience with eating WFPB for 18 months and then receiving a diagnosis of dyastolic dysfunction. It is a letdown but obviously none of us will live forever. Maybe your clot would have been worse, maybe you wouldn't have recognized that you had a problem as quickly as you did. Who knows? I think the trick is to do the best we can and enjoy life as much as we can. On the upside (for me anyway), I may have dyastolic dysfunction but my gastroenterologist told me this week after my colonoscopy that I have the best colon he's seen for a long while...;-)
Take care. I wish you and your husband the best. Keep us all posted.
Bonnie, you are so sweet. That you so much for the email. I was able to talk to Dr. Esselstyn. He is a pioneer in plant based eating. I emailed him because pulmonary embolism is heart related and he is a cardiologist. He told me that plant based eating will not help with blood clots. Blood clots happen in the veins, and plant based eating helps the arteries which helps us with heart disease. It was a pleasure to talk to him, and helped me to understand that nothing I ate caused this horrific problem. Eating a whole foods plant based diet does not make us invincible, but it helps with a great many problems.
Naomi
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