经过两次心脏手术后, she's celebrating her 70th birthday with a half-marathon

Geneva Humdy was retired and living in Costa Rica when a tour guide and friend scheduled a 5,000-foot hike up to a dramatic vista: an overlook of the Continental Divide where the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea can be seen.

Humdy was 66 and recently retired from her career as a professional fundraiser. She was still fit enough to run 12 miles, so she didn't think twice about the climb.

在下山的路上，她开始感到头晕目眩，失去了平衡. 当她回到酒店时，她感觉更糟了. 她怀疑自己的健康出了大问题. 她决定寻求医疗帮助, which was complicated by the fact that it was September 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic had severely stressed the medical system.

她去了一家健康诊所，医生检查了她的血压. 这个数字高得惊人. She was driven in an ambulance for five hours to a private hospital in San Jose. There, she received medication to control her blood pressure and was told to see a specialist as soon as she could. That was tough, too. 由于大流行的限制, she had to stay in Costa Rica for two months until she could see a cardiologist in Florida. 在等待期间，她几乎不能在公寓里走动.

到她旅行的时候，她已经坐在轮椅上了. She told her doctor, "This is a humbling experience for someone who's used to running every day."

医生诊断汉迪患有沃尔夫-帕金森-怀特综合症, 一种导致心脏异常快速跳动的先天性心脏病. The doctor explained her treatment options and told her to take some time to think about what she wanted to do.

“我告诉他，我不需要任何沙巴足球体育平台来考虑这件事，”她说. "I knew I wanted to get the procedure done and get back to my life, and running."

这一诊断似乎解开了一个挥之不去的健康之谜. Years before, she'd had several episodes of a racing heartbeat and shortness of breath. Her cardiologist at the time never determined the cause; he didn't offer any treatment or express much concern. 那次惊吓之后，她对自己的饮食更加小心了.

她接受了消融手术, 这基本上烧掉了触发她心跳的部位. It went well. So did her recovery. But, 15 months after her diagnosis, she was back at the hospital with a new health issue.

“我的心开始像一碗果冻一样颤抖，”她说.

In March 2022, Humdy被诊断为心房颤动, or AFib, 另一种类型的异常心跳. She had a second ablation and settled into another period of recovery to let her heart heal.

She couldn't run, but had faith she'd be back – and she spent a lot of her downtime thinking about when she could lace up her shoes again. 她会闭上眼睛，想象自己理想的70岁生日.

"I always knew I wanted to run another half-marathon for my 70th birthday," she said. “我告诉我的心脏病医生，如果我能跑的话，我愿意做任何他让我做的事."

In June, her cardiologist granted her wish and told her she could start training again. 她慢慢地恢复了跑步里程. 她登记了13岁的生日.一英里生日派对.

“生活可能是艰难的, 但是跑步帮助我解决了很多事情，它改变了我的情绪," Humdy said. "Running makes me feel good and I feel grateful every day that I'm healthy and able to run again."

Her strong return is no surprise to Adrian Clough, her friend and longtime training partner. 克拉夫见证了Humdy在各种天气中奔跑. And when they finished a run, Humdy would sometimes keep going for a few more miles.

“她一直都很活跃，很有动力, 我知道她不会让任何事情阻止她再次参选," Clough said. “如果她说她要做点什么, 你完全可以肯定她会这么做."

Humdy, 谁现在住在罗阿诺克, Virginia, will head to Hawaii in March to celebrate her 70th birthday at the Ku'ikahi Half Marathon. She'll also use the race to raise money for the 美国心脏协会 in hopes of helping other people detect and manage heart conditions.

“这次跑步不仅仅是个人的里程碑," said Humdy, 谁曾经跑过五次半程马拉松. “我很感激那些救了我一命的人.她相信她的心脏病专家、外科医生、朋友和家人. “没有他们所有人, I'm not sure if I would have survived and returned to the life of adventure that inspires me."

发自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.