Andi's Realm

Welcome back to the Realm's Sweet Saturday Samples

Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

Today, I bring you the introduction to my newly-published autobiography "My Open Heart."

Growing up with heart disease can be difficult, but it does not always have to alter your life course. MY OPEN HEART is written for young adults growing up with heart disease. It's meant to inspire them to chase their dreams, to show that they are not alone, and, perhaps, to help guide them through the maze of life with heart disease. Parents of children with heart disease and other chronic illnesses will find support and inspiration within this true story. We are not alone.

Introduction

I’m 36, married and a college graduate.  I earned my BA in journalism from the University of South Florida in May 2007.  At the time of graduation, I had no idea what I was going to do with my degree.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to go out and get a full time job writing for a newspaper or magazine.  I wanted to freelance, but I knew that meant searching out companies to write for and things to write about, and that I would have to be able to work at my own pace, and do everything from home via e-mail, snail mail and phone.

The reason for this is simple:  I am disabled.  No, I’m not in a wheelchair.  I was born with a heart condition.  It has limited my life in various ways, and made me miss out on many things, but it hasn’t been completely terrible.  After all, I graduated from high school and Junior College, got married and graduated from USF.

But it has been avery hard road, and the journey is not ending anytime soon.  Those of you who are growing up with heart disease know exactly what I’m talking about. You know what it’s like to miss a lot of school because of how easily you get sick and how long you stay sick because you can’t take the usual medicines to make you feel better.  You know what it’s like to feel left out because you can’t participate in all of the different activities with other kids. And you know what it’s like to have to go to the doctor so frequently, take medicine constantly and be in the hospital far too often.  What a way to grow up.

When I was young, Iwent through my share of “why me’s” but always had my mom right there to get me through those miserable times.  She would hug me, dry my tears and talk to me about what specifically was bothering me at the time.  Then she would remind me of what I could do, and that there are kids out there who couldn’t even do the things I was able to do.  But the most important thing she told me that sticks in my mind to this day is that there is a reason for everything, and someday I’ll find out why I was born with my heart condition. 

I’m still waiting to find out, but I believe that I will find out someday.  Perhaps it is to share my story with you and help you deal with growing up as I did.  I hope you will read my story and use it as encouragement to keep fighting and keep going.

Thank you for reading the introduction to my story. "My Open Heart" is available from Solstice Publishing, Amazon for the Kindle, and Smashwords.