The Story

I first got diagnosed with Asthma when I was eleven. You see I had been coughing alot more than usual and it began causing breathing problems especially in the winter so i was taken to the pediatrician and given a inhaler and a preventative steroid based drug. The medications worked and my asthma did much better until i reached eight and ninth grade. During my ninth grade year in fact shortly after my fifteenth birthday my symptoms were getting much worse and i was no longer able to sing and was missing school so I went to see a Pulmonologist at Primary Children's Hospital. The pulomonologist ran some tests and decided to change my treatment plan to a stronger one which included regular breathing treatments when needed. The new medications worked great and I finished ninth grade in choir and dancing it was a blast. I turned sixteen and was in tenth grade and everything seemed to be going great. I had started a new school and now had a big group of friends plus I was dancing on two competition teams for my dance studio. Unfortunately in April of that year I got Bronchitis and my asthma worsened. I was given steroids and an antibiotic and when they failed to work i was admitted to the hospital to regain strength and control of my breathing. I was there for only two days and I seemed to be doing better. About a week later i was in the ER having trouble breathing again and this time they were not sure it was my asthma alone so I was tested for Pertussis, TB and Pneumonia all of which were negative. The only thing they found was severe inflammation in my airways but that was due to the asthma so at this time I was told that I now had Severe Asthma. I was advised to stop dancing and was still getting really sick. I finished the year barley and looked forward to being a Junior even if it didn't involve dance.  I did pretty good during eleventh grade and got a job that summer. I was working at a childcare center and loving every minute of it. I was excited to begin my senior year of high school and was even able to take work release. My senior year started and everything changed! The first week of school was good but that weekend I was rushed to Primary Children's Hospital  because I was struggling to breathe. When I got to the hospital I was unable to completely breathe on my own. The triage nurse put oxygen on me and listened to my lungs. She determined that I was not moving air. She explained that she could hear the air going in but i was not able to get it back out. This caused my CO2 level to rise..I was then admitted the PICU and put on a device known as CPAP which is a mask gives pressurized oxygen allowing you to breathe easier. I was in the hospital a total of four days before I was stable enough to go home. Once at home i wasn't able to go to school so i was put on Home and Hospital. I spent my whole senior year in and out of Primary Children's and my doctors offices. With the help of my doctors I slowly able to regain control of my asthma and my life. Just before graduation I suffered from a TIA that caused left sided weakness. In July it was determined that the TIA I suffered was caused by a heart condition known as a Patent Forman Ovale or PFO for short. A PFO is a valve in the heart that usually closes at birth but in some cases it remains open. When the PFO is open it can cause things like TIAs, strokes, heart attacks, migraines and other problems. Over time the different medications i am on and the chronic asthma attacks have caused my PFO to became more open than it was in 2007 when it was diagnosed. With my PFO being opened up more it is allowing blood to be shunted through it bypassing the valve in the heart that sends it to the lungs before it goes back in the heart and through out the body. The blood that is not going through my lungs contains small clots and other enzymes that are usual broken down and filtered in the lungs. These clots and enzymes are then allowed to reach the brain and other areas where they have the potential to cause strokes, TIA's, heart attacks and pulmonary embolisms.

 Since the beginning of 2009 I have had to quit working because my asthma and the symptoms related to the PFO have gotten worse and the medications i am taking  have severely weakened my immune system.  I am constantly picking up respiratory infections and viruses that have me down for days or weeks at a time. Due to this and my worsening breathing I am stuck at home only leaving the house once a week. When I do leave the house I have to wear an isolation  mask to help prevent me from getting sick.  The PFO is now causing debilitating migraines and a rapid heart rate. It can also be causing my high blood pressure and some of the breathing problems.
I have had to miss weddings, family parties and other various activities because I am often too sick to attend or someone else has been sick and i cant chance getting even the smallest cold right now.  Recently I have had a respiratory infection that doesn't seem to go completely away or if it does it comes back a week later. I am requiring monthly doses of steroids and often need IV doses of steroids. 
My doctors are hopeful that a surgery to correct the PFO will give me some relief and a chance at a more normal life. Unfortunately the state insurance I am on doesn't cover surgeries or hospital stays in fact they only cover my primary care doctor so everything else is my expense.