Student Life October 2019
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MY PHYSICAL<br />
HEALTH JOURNEY<br />
BY LOUISA SADLER<br />
I thought it was time as physical<br />
health co-editor that I would<br />
share my own journey with my<br />
physical health in the hope it<br />
will help encourage more young<br />
people to talk about their<br />
physical health more openly.<br />
When I was six weeks old, my doctor<br />
discovered that I had a heart murmur that<br />
was later diagnosed with a heart condition.<br />
On top of that, I had a valve that leaked<br />
also but wasn’t serious enough to require<br />
immediate treatment. Therefore, I was<br />
constantly monitored by cardiologists from<br />
London at least once a year. I would have<br />
regular ECGs and ultrasounds so they could<br />
monitor my condition for any developments<br />
so they could consider whether or not I<br />
needed surgery.<br />
It wasn’t until I was 13 when I needed to<br />
have surgery. This was because they found<br />
my valve leaking more and that tissue<br />
was beginning to build up in one of my<br />
chambers. When they told me this, I was<br />
terrified. The whole prospect of having open<br />
heart surgery at that age was so hard to come<br />
to terms with. In July 2012 I had the surgery<br />
to fix my heart condition. Initially there<br />
were some complications with the surgery<br />
that resulted in a second surgery 24 hours<br />
later, but surgeons were able to fix the major<br />
problems. I still have a small<br />
leak in my valve that continues to be closely<br />
monitored by my cardiologist in Norwich. I<br />
have had MRI and CT Scans to also monitor<br />
the complication that arose during the initial<br />
surgery which my consultant is hopeful that<br />
it will not cause me any future problems.<br />
My journey is far from over, but I have come<br />
a long way since surgery. I’ve never let my<br />
heart condition stop me from doing what<br />
I want to do and what I want to achieve. I<br />
suppose that’s the message I’m trying to get<br />
out there; Never let your physical health stop<br />
you from achieving what you want to achieve.<br />
You’re so much more than your condition<br />
and shouldn’t let it define who you are. I<br />
hope this encourages other people to speak<br />
openly about their physical health.<br />
If you feel brave enough to share your story,<br />
email me at louisa@student-life.co and your<br />
story could feature in the magazine!<br />
72 • OCTOBER <strong>2019</strong> • STUDENT LIFE
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