Be our Guest on Therapeutic Thursdays

 💖Therapeutic Thursday — 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀💖

💙Join us for Therapeutic Thursday, hosted by community member, survivor, and therapist John Quick.

We’re inviting 𝗬𝗢𝗨 to be a guest on our pre-recorded series and share how aortic disease — whether an aneurysm, valve disease, or dissection — has impacted you mentally and emotionally.

 ✨𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹.

 ✨𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱.

 ✨𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲.

☁️At Aortic Hope, it’s all about real stories, 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.

 ❤️If you’re ready to share your experience and help others on this journey, we would be honored to feature you.

 👇🏽Sign up using the link below and John will personally reach out with more details:

https://forms.office.com/r/Qig7bCBVxv 

💕Because healing happens when we talk about it.

"In 2006, I suffered an aortic dissection (Type A). Lifesaving OHS replaced my aortic valve and my aorta was partially built with a prothesis. I later dissected with a Type B dissection running from the top of the aortic arch to the bifurcation into the legs - too extensive to operate on. This dissection is managed defensively - i.e. with blood pressure medication and beta-blockers. I have also been taking anti-coagulation medicine since the incident.

This was profoundly life changing, having physical, emotional and financial implications. For example overnight my income dropped by 70%. I was supporting a young family. Severe illness causes a tsunami of issues, not just related to the physical health matter itself - far from it.

As I became stronger, I began to study online courses in a field I have always been interested in - Counselling. I am a qualified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist and Hypnotherapist (Registered with the GHR/GHSC - UK) specializing in Trauma, Loss, Anxiety, Depression, PTSD & general physical rehabilitation amongst other issues.

I do volunteering work and I can help with the more holistic perhaps less medically attended 'life issues' that accompany this condition. Also, being nearly 18 years on from the Dissection, I know a fair bit about being on blood thinners; managing blood pressure; and what my body tells me and I have learnt about living with aortic disease.

Frankly, most of this begins and ends with the 'Fears' that we have with this condition, which play out in their multiple guises in:

Death anxiety

Fears of recurrence and the day today demands of the condition

Damaged confidence in life,

Energy levels

Sleep issues,

Fitness, exercise and body issues challenges

Sexual dysfunction

Cognitive changes including concentration etc.

In my experience with clients in all walks of life not just here - Fear sits at the root of most of the challenges we face. But it gets hidden and disguised in many coping strategies."

~John

* 𝑨𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒔. 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒔.

𝘽𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙖 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡.

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