Come join Aortic Hope for a special Live Therapeutic Thursdays at 12pm EST. This event will be led by community member and therapist John Quick. You will have an opportunity to interact with John and ask questions. Remember, Aortic Hope and their volunteers are not medical professionals. Please speak with your physician if you have any medical or mental health issues.
"In 2006, I suffered an aortic dissection (Type A). Lifesaving OHS replaced my aortic valve and my aorta was partially built with a prothesis. I later dissected with a Type B dissection running from the top of the aortic arch to the bifurcation into the legs - too extensive to operate on. This dissection is managed defensively - i.e. with blood pressure medication and beta-blockers. I have also been taking anti-coagulation medicine since the incident.
This was profoundly life changing, having physical, emotional and financial implications. For example overnight my income dropped by 70%. I was supporting a young family. Severe illness causes a tsunami of issues, not just related to the physical health matter itself - far from it.
As I became stronger, I began to study online courses in a field I have always been interested in - Counselling. I am a qualified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist and Hypnotherapist (Registered with the GHR/GHSC - UK) specializing in Trauma, Loss, Anxiety, Depression, PTSD & general physical rehabilitation amongst other issues.
I do volunteering work and I can help with the more holistic perhaps less medically attended 'life issues' that accompany this condition. Also, being nearly 18 years on from the Dissection, I know a fair bit about being on blood thinners; managing blood pressure; and what my body tells me and I have learnt about living with aortic disease.
Frankly, most of this begins and ends with the 'Fears' that we have with this condition, which play out in their multiple guises in:
Death anxiety
Fears of recurrence and the day today demands of the condition
Damaged confidence in life,
Energy levels
Sleep issues,
Fitness, exercise and body issues challenges
Sexual dysfunction
Cognitive changes including concentration
etc.
In my experience with clients in all walks of life not just here - Fear sits at the root of most of the challenges we face. But it gets hidden and disguised in many coping strategies."
~John
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