Hello, my name is Alicia Nance. I’m 41 years old and I have congestive heart failure. I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in January 2015 and by July 2015 I had an ICD placed in my chest.

An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a small battery-powered device placed in your chest to monitor your heart rhythm and detect irregular heartbeats. An ICD can deliver electric shocks via one or more wires connected to your heart to fix an abnormal heart rhythm.

My formal diagnosis is non-ischemic idiopathic cardiomyopathy and my ejection fraction is 15%. The average person’s EF is 55%. What is ejection fraction? I’m glad you asked. Here’s a brief description. An ejection fraction is the volumetric fraction of fluid ejected from a chamber with each contraction. It can refer to the cardiac atrium, ventricle, gall bladder, or leg veins, although if unspecified it usually refers to the left ventricle of the heart.

Although each body is different, often times the symptoms are very similar. I deal with shortness of breath, excess fluid around my heart, chest pain, fatigue, and most recently I was hospitalized for pulmonary edema also known as “wet lungs”.

I am writing on my behalf because I’ve come to a part in my journey where a heart transplant is now my only option. With that being said, I need assistance with medical bills and most importantly the medication to sustain me for two years post-op to ensure that my body doesn’t reject my new heart. I am a mother, a daughter, a sister, a cousin and a friend. Our mandatory goal is $12,100 and no amount is too big nor too small. I would love to leave this thought for each of you. Just because someone looks good, looks fine and/or healthy, doesn’t mean they are; so let’s be careful how we treat each other. I humbly thank you in advance for your donations and I I don’t take the love or generosity lightly. Be blessed!

Alicia