Spotify playlists are letters to my children

Unable to catch my breath, I laid with my back on the wood planks of our attic floor. I remember Elton John’s “Your Song” echoed in the background. Air slowly came back to my lungs. It felt like hours before I could breathe deeply again.

It was June 2005 and I was about to embark on two major life changes. I was starting a new job and, more importantly, our first baby was due at any moment.

I chalked up the episode to a panic attack. Stress was never a big deal for me, but it seemed the only logical explanation.

I later found out I nearly died on that floor. With two 100 percent blockages, a few smaller blockages, massive cholesterol problems and skyrocketing blood pressure, I probably should have died. The heart surgeon said as much as he chiseled through one clog to place a stent, noting that the other blockage healed itself with collateral arteries.

I now take a complex cocktail of heart medications each day to keep death at bay.

Read more at https://www.vindy.com/life/lifestyles/2020/12/spotify-playlists-are-letters-to-my-children/ (may encounter paywall).