September 2018 - Karee Russell

How can you not FALL in love with Colorado? See what I did there? Truly, Colorado is one of the prettiest states I have ever lived in (I’m a little biased as I was born and raised in Colorado).

My first hike in over 8 years was at Red Rocks Canyon Open Space. the park consists of a series of parallel ridges called hogbacks and eroded canyons. It was on a Tuesday and it was a beautiful day. I started out by taking my inhaler before getting my butt to this gorgeous view. I stayed at the water for at least 10 minutes doing some light yoga and breathing techniques before moving on with my hike.

The next stop was overlooking what appeared to be man-made walls, which I believe are part of the industrial site. I kept moving, listening to the sound of nature, saw several birds, chipmunks, and squirrels.

I had gotten to the end of the easy trail and had decided to keep walking onto a medium trail. I was getting eaten up by bugs (don’t forget your bug spray). I felt lost because I hadn’t hiked there before, but I was enjoying the beautiful day.

I hiked for over 2 hours and ended up back at the water. You could see Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods. On my hike, I ran into this dog who ran away from its owners, but was SOOOOO happy and ran to give me a wet kiss before running back to its owners. During the hike, I had seen only a few other hikers.

Luckily, on my way down the mountain, I was able to follow a few people. I made my way down rocky hillsides with beautiful 360 views. My first hike in 8 years was phenomenal.

We were set to move in early August 2018. Our stuff was packed and shipped to Germany. It started on a Friday, my husband started to feel sick. I thought it was going to go away like any normal cold. However, it turned out to be much worse.

Tuesday, August 7th my husband started to feel worse. What’s worse, I was driving to Los Angeles to drop off one of our cars to ship it to Germany. Therefore, I was not able to be with my husband when he went to the ER again and was told he was having a heart attack. Fear filled my bones. How can this be possible? He is only 28!! He has many more years to live.

This cannot be possible!!! It was. He ended up getting surgery to see what was wrong with his heart and seeing how much damage was done. LUCKILY, it turned out to not be a heart attack. Still shocking and overwhelmed with what was going on, he had to be in the hospital for a week.

We did not get answers right away, his temperature was not going down until about the 5th day in the hospital. We were getting antsy, we wanted to know what caused this. It turned out to be a viral infection that caused a fluid collection in the pericardial sac around his heart.

Now that we knew the cause we were able to get him medication to feel better. Pericarditis is what the doctors said my husband had. This is something he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

Quick back story, this is the second time in 8 years of marriage my husband has been to the doctors, he doesn’t go very often. He doesn’t need to. Therefore, this has scared him. I don’t blame him for being scared. If you have had nurses and doctors tell you that you could have died, it is very serious.

But back to the story. “Pericarditis refers to inflammation of the pericardium, two thin layers of a sac-like tissue that surround the heart, hold it in place, and help it work. A small amount of fluid keeps the layers separate so that there’s no friction between them” (American Heart Association, 2018).

This experience has made me realize we cannot take things (family, loved ones, friends, careers… ext) for granted. I am and will from this day forward taking family days and breaks from social media. I want to spend time with my loved ones!

Thank you for reading this and I hope it has helped you be informed about Pericarditis. If you believe you may have Pericarditis please see your doctor or head to the ER right away.

Please make sure to read my Disclosure & Disclaimer page

Month: September 2018

First Hike in 8 Years

When Life Changes Directions