August 8th, 2017 was the day I was supposed to die…

I was lying in a coma in ICU and had been given less than 48 hours to live. I had a condition called cardiomyopathy, and while a healthy heart pumps 65% of the blood in the left ventricle out to the body per beat, mine was only pumping 5%. I had been brought in the afternoon before and was placed in a coma to try and allow people to make it to the hospital before I died. 

Twelve days later, the doctors had a decision to make. I was still alive somehow. I had to come out of the coma and see if my body could support itself. My chances were slim I would live, and if I did I would be bedridden. August 19th was my rebirth.

Luckily, I made it and found out I had an enormous mountain in front of me. I had atrophied so badly I couldn't move in bed and sometimes needed help getting a spoon to my mouth. I was told I would spend months in the hospital just to get strong enough to go home. Instead, I walked out on September 1st, thirteen days after waking up.

I was told a number of things on how I would have to live life and things I would never be able to do again:

First, it was I would live about a year and be mainly bedridden. Then, I could have a chance at living longer but would need a heart, liver and kidney transplant, as well as being bedridden. That moved to just a heart transplant. Throughout this time I worked every day on both my strength and my cardiovascular health, looking to achieve one thing every day I couldn't do the day before.

Finally, in November, I reached a point where they said I would have heart disease for the rest of my life. My heart was only pumping at 22% and I would have to have a pacemaker installed. Surgery was scheduled for 48 hours later. I said no and that I wanted to wait until the beginning of the year to see if I could do anything to not need the surgery. They said we could wait until January but there was no way I would be able to get my heart strong enough based on my current health. I would have to reach about 40% with each heart pump to not need surgery and they hadn't seen anyone get that much stronger that quickly.

On January 3, 2018, I went in for a heart MRI and the reading came back at 42%. My doctors couldn't believe what they were seeing. I was able to avoid surgery. I continued exercising daily but had a lot of restrictions on both my diet and activity. My goal was still the same every day, to be able to do just one thing better than the last time I had worked out. By the end of March, I had reached a heart measurement of 50% per beat which put me just at the bottom of what's considered a normal range. My heart had also shrunk almost back to normal size. Somehow I had overcome all the obstacles, was able to do things I was told I'd never be able to do again, and had all my doctors in awe. I had basically worked my way back from death to being able to live a normal life.

Today, I still watch what I eat, work out pretty much every day, and continue to have the goal of being able to do something a little better than the last time I attempted it. I am in the best shape I've been in since college, and now want to help others achieve their own goals, overcome their own obstacles, and live a better life.

You don't have to do this on your own. WE can work together to help you EVOLVE into the person you want to be. I look forward to hearing from you. Together, WEvolve.