In October 2020, Jodie's life changed overnight when she was told she had heart-failure. 10 months on, she wants to make a difference and bring something positive out of her diagnosis.
"After feeling poorly for quite a while during 2020, I was sent for emergency bloods to detect why I had been feeling like this. In October, my world was flipped upside down when I was told I was in heart failure. My heart was failing me - it wasn’t working as it should and, at 25-30%, it was struggling to pump my blood quick enough.
I had to be admitted to hospital immediately. I was too high risk to go home. I was scared - I had no idea what was going to happen or what impact this would have.
I was told that I would be contacted by a heart failure nurse, who was here to support me. I also have the most supportive family, friends and workplace to help get me through, but I still felt alone, scared and lost. I had never felt so vulnerable in my life.
Whilst I was off work for five months, I began feeling guilty, despite doing what I was told to do by the specialists, which was to rest. For anyone who knows what I am like, that was tough.
Over time, I began getting back into walking and eventually got my steps up. I wanted to make something positive come out of this and so I decided to set myself a challenge. I challenged myself to walk 10,000 steps per day in July, which was a total of 310,000 steps. To some people, this is not a challenge, but when you come from not being able to walk up the stairs to being able to walk 5k in one go, it’s a big deal.
It’s been hard, but it's also been wonderful and it’s kept me focussed. I have reconnected to music whilst dancing around the lounge again too which has been amazing. I have a long way to go but it’s definitely been amazing to give back. With my husband, Dave, by my side I achieved it quite quickly with sheer determination. I felt like I was winning.
I am now 10 months forward and I take my medication religiously. I still continue to make my way through the day with the side effects of the medication and the condition. I have a long way to go but it’s definitely been amazing to give back to Cardiomyopathy UK."