I remember that vacation because I never got to go.

Everything was ready except for a few last-minute things, like changing the oil in the van. That’s what my husband was doing when I had a massive heart attack.

I had been a nurse for nearly 10 years and knew right away that I was having a heart attack. When I got to the hospital and was still in pain, though, I chalked it up to an inflammation of my heart caused by the damage of the attack. In reality, I was still having the heart attack.

As the medical staff started treatment in the very unit I worked, I was reading the monitors. Because of my professional background, I knew I was going to code and asked my husband to alert the nurse as I thought, “This is it.”

After coding, I was put on life support and the Medical College of Ohio transplant team was called in for evaluation.

Two days after having my heart attack, that team put me on the heart transplant list. Five days after having my attack, I received a new heart.

The medical staff doesn’t know why I had such a large heart attack at such a young age. They think it might have been a spasm. I think it might have been stress. Either way, it’s made me think more about my health and that of my family.

Back then I didn’t see many young women having heart attacks. Usually, if there was a problem, it was congenital. My case was pretty unusual. I didn’t have other physical problems. I didn’t smoke. I didn’t have diabetes. I had always been active.

On the other hand, my husband had a family history and I continuously would warn him. This history has caused my daughter, who is only 18, to already start thinking about her heart health.

Today, I’m a registered nurse working in St. Charles’ coronary intensive care unit. I’m also an Ambassador for the American Heart Association’s Toledo Goes Red for Women. Because of my profession, I’ve always understood the importance of heart health, but that importance is also strong because of my experience. I encourage women to pay attention to their bodies. Get checkups. And get any kind of symptoms checked out.