Experience: I have sudden death syndrome

‘I just accept that this is how my cards were marked. I imagine I will feel differently when I become a mum’

I was 11 when I first blacked out, under water, in a primary school swimming lesson. I was a strong swimmer and determined to finish ahead of the girl next to me. As I dived in, I remember thinking “I’m going to beat her”. I got as far as the lifeguard and woke up pool-side, wrapped in tin foil, with my teacher standing over me, having administered CPR.

That was the first sign of my rare heart abnormality, also known as sudden death syndrome. It refers to a number of different cardiac diseases that together affect around 1 in 7,000 people. All I recall about that first attack was vividly picturing my little sister, Bronagh, and the sight, as I came to, of school friends being ushered out in tears.

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from Health & wellbeing | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1KpVNOz
via health