重獲新“心”

大一那年，我正在修讀職業(yè)課程，交朋結(jié)友，享受生活，但是沒過多久，我的整個世界變得一片混亂——我經(jīng)歷了一次心臟病發(fā)。心臟病發(fā)作的感覺就像有人用刀不斷地刺進我的胸口，疼痛難耐。病發(fā)之后的幾個星期，我一直待在醫(yī)院，接受了很多測試，找了很多醫(yī)生看病。他們叫我“輕松一點”，就像醫(yī)生經(jīng)常掛在嘴邊的話一樣。

經(jīng)過三個月的休養(yǎng)，我回到學(xué)校，隨后的情況卻急轉(zhuǎn)直下。在奶奶家住時，一天半夜醒來，我感覺胸口一陣劇痛。我知道心臟病又要發(fā)作了，但這次感覺糟糕很多。我驚恐萬分，完全動彈不得，甚至連呼叫求助也不行。幸好爺爺當時準備上廁所，聽到我從床上掉下來。如果不是他，我現(xiàn)在可能就不會在這里了。

診斷結(jié)果

造成這些問題的原因是我的心臟上有兩個洞，必須馬上動手術(shù)修復(fù)它們。不幸的是，手術(shù)不太順利，他們只修復(fù)了其中一個洞。手術(shù)中，我的心臟甚至一度停止跳動。后來我昏迷了一個星期，靠生命維持器支持——我差點兒活不成了。

術(shù)后醒來，我聽見哥哥在叫我的名字。我的口很干，恨不得馬上吃點什么或者喝點什么。經(jīng)診斷，我患了三級心力衰竭。這意味著我很難進行體力活動——這些活動可能會產(chǎn)生疲勞、心悸和呼吸困難等問題。最讓我吃驚的是他們說我需要進行心臟移植，并已經(jīng)為我登記輪候。心臟衰竭來得如此之快，連醫(yī)生們都很驚訝——通常要幾年才會這樣，但我的心臟不足6個月就發(fā)展到那個階段。也許我應(yīng)該在年紀小一點的時候進行手術(shù)，但那時我的心臟還沒對我造成什么影響。

我的世界崩塌了，但我仍然堅強面對。我可以選擇每天埋頭痛哭，或者繼續(xù)自己的生活。由于病得太重，我沒有再上學(xué)，而是在家玩電腦游戲、聽音樂。我的身體越來越虛弱，像穿衣服之類的日常小事也要別人幫忙。要應(yīng)對喪失獨立能力實在太困難了，我最終被診斷患上了抑郁癥。時間一天一天地過去，生活變得越發(fā)艱難；我討厭整天感覺虛弱無力，什么事情都要別人幫助。慢慢地，我想到自己永遠也沒法獲得新的心臟。

希望再現(xiàn)

盡管我以為2008年的圣誕節(jié)將是我的最后一個圣誕節(jié)，但我真的過得很開心，甚至連元旦也很快樂。午夜的鐘聲響起時，每個人都在為我哭泣，他們鼓勵我與病魔抗爭下去?；顒咏Y(jié)束后，我覺得自己無法繼續(xù)下去了——要么盡我所能地結(jié)束這一切，要么想盡辦法得到一顆心臟。一周后，我接到醫(yī)生打來的電話，說他們找到了合適的捐贈者。我的愿望成真了，而且幸運的是手術(shù)很順利。我在手術(shù)室躺了4小時，醫(yī)生取出我原來的心臟，放進一顆新的。醒來的時候，我不禁失聲痛哭——我終于重獲

新生了。

現(xiàn)在我正在休息，讓生活慢慢回到正軌，勇敢面對每一天。我的生活發(fā)生了翻天覆地的改變。我感覺強壯、健康多了。我很感激那位把他（她）的心臟捐贈給我的人。我再也不會把生命視作理所當然的事了。由于抑郁癥還沒好，我會繼續(xù)休息幾個月，家人和醫(yī)生們給了我很大支持。我打算在9月到大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)美術(shù)。希望我可以很快好起來，繼續(xù)我的人生。

I was in my first year of college doing a vocational[職業(yè)的]

course， making friends and enjoying life， but then my whole world turned upside down – I had a heart attack. It felt like someone was stabbing[刺] me in the chest with a knife over and over again; the pain was excruciating[極痛苦的].

I was in hospital for a few weeks after the attack， having lots of tests and seeing various doctors. They told me to “take it easy，” like doctors always do.

After three months of rest I went back to college， but then things took a turn for the worse. I was staying at my Nana’s house and woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible pain in my chest. I knew I was having a heart attack again， but this one felt a lot worse. I had a panic

attack[驚恐癥，驚恐發(fā)作] and was completely paralysed[使麻痹、癱瘓] –

I couldn’t even shout for help. Luckily my Grandad was going to the toilet and heard me falling out of bed. If it wasn’t for him， I probably wouldn’t be here.

Being Diagnosed [診斷]

The two holes in my heart were causing the

problems and I needed an operation immediately to

repair them. Unfortunately， the surgery[外科手術(shù)] didn’t

go well and they only managed to repair one of the holes. My heart stopped halfway through the operation and I was unconscious[失去知覺的] for a week on a life support machine – I nearly didn’t make it.

When I woke up from the

operation， I could hear my brother saying my name. I had a really dry mouth and couldn’t wait to have something to eat and drink. I was diagnosed with level three heart failure[心力衰竭]. This meant that physical activities would be difficult for me and could cause fatigue[疲勞]， palpitations[心悸]，

and dyspnea[呼吸困難]. The biggest

shock of all came when I was told that I needed a heart

transplant[移植] and was put on the register[登記]. The

doctors were stunned at how quickly heart failure came on – it usually takes years， but it took my heart less than six months to get to that stage. I probably should have had surgery when I was younger， but my heart hadn’t caused any problems for me then.

My whole world came crashing down， but I stayed strong. It was a choice between crying every day or

getting on with my life. I wasn’t in college anymore because I was too ill. Instead I played computer games and listened to music at home. I gradually got weaker and needed help with everyday tasks like getting dressed. It was very hard to cope with[應(yīng)付] losing my independence and I was diagnosed with depression[抑郁癥]. As time went on， life became even harder; I hated feeling weak all the time and needing help with everything. It got to the point where I thought I would never get a new heart.

A Second Chance

Even though I thought that Christmas 2008 would be my last， I really enjoyed it and even had a good New Year. Everyone

was crying for me when the clock struck midnight and they told me to keep fighting. When it was over I felt like I couldn’t go on anymore – I would have done anything to end it all or get a heart. A week later， I got a call from the doctors saying they’d found a suitable donor[捐贈人]. My wish came true and thankfully the operation went well. I spent four hours in surgery where they took out my old heart and put a new one in. When I woke up I burst out[突然……起來] crying – I had a second chance at life.

At the moment I’m just resting and getting my life back on track， taking each day as it comes. My life has completely changed and I feel a lot stronger and healthier. I’m so grateful to the person who gave me their heart and will never take life for granted again. I’m going to have a few months rest because I’ve still got depression， but I’m getting lots of support from my family

and doctors. I want to go to college in

September and study art， so hopefully I’ll get better soon and be able to get on with my life.