I

spent the next few weeks consulting with specialists and scouring the Internet for information. I needed a plan. I hated the cardioversion — you feel like you’re dying. And I never wanted another experience like that last ER visit again.

Cardiac ablation carries over 95% success rate.

Humph.

Cardiac ablation carries a risk of complications including: puncture of heart, puncture of arteries, damage to heart’s electrical system, damage to kidneys, heart attack, stroke, and death in rare cases.

Next.

I used to cry every time in the ER… cardioversion feels terrible.

Relate.

I’m 14 and I had surgery four years ago, but it started again...

What?!

I’m 46 and I’ve had two ablations and now it’s back again…

Forget it!

I was doing it on purpose — finding material to support my decision. Because after my last time in the ER, the thought of any medical intervention at all triggered overwhelming fear. There was no way in a million years I was going to voluntarily submit to an ablation. In fact, I was even terrified of giving birth. (Not sure how I would get out of that one.)

My new prejudice against modern medicine led me to some interesting finds online:

Emotional Eating, Food Addictions, and Heart Disorders

No, seriously?

Cardiology Conspiracy: How Your Doctor Makes You Sick

Rolling.

How many cardiologists does it take to change a light bulb? One to fix the electrical route, nine to stand around and murmur.

Ooookay, back to work.…

Then there were accounts by people who had managed to break an episode on their own:

This might sound a little strange, but I find that if I stand on my head it converts.…

Reverse cardiology!

What I find works is taking magnesium oil and soaking my feet in it.

How did he even come up with that? Hey, I know, let’s try magnesium oil! No, on my feet!

I used to go to the ER but then my doctor told me to try the diver’s reflex. Fill a basin with ice water and plunge your head in. It works every time!

This was getting better and better.

Vasovagal maneuvers can reset the heart to normal rhythm…

Right, I knew this.

Bill Freehan, catcher for the Detroit Tigers, would perform vasovagal maneuvers on the field…

Been there, done that. Well, not on national TV, but still. These maneuvers hadn’t worked for me any time. Just as the cardioversion hadn’t ever worked.

I spun my swivel chair around and turned my back on the screen. The doctors couldn’t identify the cause or correct the problem. Vasovagal maneuvers were ineffective. Standard medical protocol had failed. All my go-getterness hadn’t gotten me anywhere.

I needed a different kind of plan.

Each time, my heart had converted on its own. On its own? The heart runs on electricity, but it’s not like it’s plugged into anything. What makes your heart beat? Who makes your heart beat?

That was the thought I should have held on to as the blackness overwhelmed me. That thought felt good. It felt right.

The fear began to recede a little bit.

(Excerpted from Family First, Issue 576)