Lizzie Lilac and the Left Socks Book Tour & the Survive & Thrive Blog Hop

If you're here for the Survive & Thrive Blog Hop, my entry can be found below Lizzie Lilac and the Left Socks.

Today I welcome Cheri Chesley and K.C. Rose. Their children's book, Lizzie Lilac and the Left Socks, released this month. Welcome, ladies!

Authors: Cheri Chesley &  K.C. Rose

Book Title:  Lizzie Lilac and the Left Socks

Book Genre:  Children's Books

Release Date: October 2014

Tour Host: Silverbow Promotions

In honor of all breast cancer survivors, warriors, and those they’ve left behind.

A few years ago, K.C. Rose and I got some devastating news: a sweet friend and mother had an extremely aggressive form of breast cancer. Since I had just launched my first novel into the world, I decided to donate all my royalties for a period of months to the family to help them fight this horrible invader. But it wasn’t enough—we knew we could do more. That’s where the concept of the Lizzie Lilac book was born. This book is not only dedicated to our friend (who is now cancer free!!) and her family, but also to all the families who struggle with this disease. K.C. and I make no profit from sharing this story—everything we raise will go to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah to help them help others.

Thank you for being part of our fight. 

Poor Lizzie Lilac. When one of her favorite socks goes missing, she is determined to find out where all the missing socks go. What she learns is definitely more than she expected.

You can purchase Lizzie Lilac and the Left Socks at Amazon.

About the authors:

Cheri Chesley believes in miracles and the magic of books in everyday life. When not writing, she can be found reading the dictionary for fun or devouring any of the many books in her library. She lives with her husband and numerous children in Waurika, OK. Look for updates on her latest works at www.cheri-chesley.com.

K.C. Rose is the pen name of one of Cheri Chesley’s lovely daughter, who currently enjoys reading books about fairies, writing stories, singing, and performing. She lives with her family and was the guiding inspiration for Lizzie Lilac and the Left Socks—including coming up with the concept, naming characters, and approving all rewrites.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Survive and Thrive Bloghop is hosted by Stephen Tremp, Michael Di Gesu, Diane Wolfe, and Alex J. Cavanaugh. And it's meant to bring awareness of disease prevention and early detection regarding medical conditions that may be averted or treated if caught in the early stages.

What I'd like to talk about is heart attacks in women. Why just women? You'll see in a moment. 

The symptoms of a heart attack have been fairly well publicized in the past. These symptoms include:

• Chest pain, usually in the center of the chest, that lasts more than a few minutes
• Pain in other areas, such as the arm, jaw, back, neck, and stomach
• Shortness of breath
• Other symptoms, such as cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness

Chest pain and arm pain are the two symptoms we hear most about. What they weren't discussing a decade ago, and which I haven't noticed being mentioned these days either, is that women's heart attack symptoms are often outside the normal symptoms mentioned for men. Women often don't suffer the chest pain as a primary symptom. Instead, they will frequently experience flu-like symptoms, including:

• Pressure or pain in the abdomen
• Dizziness, fainting, lightheadedness
• Upper back pain
• Extreme fatigue

Just over a decade ago, I was putting together a huge surprise party for my parents' anniversary. I'd secured the venue after much research, and I had friends and family flying out from Oregon and California to take part. I called my grandma (my mom's mom) to see if she'd be coming out, as well. Her voice was weak. She told me she wasn't feeling well. She thought it was the flu shot she'd just gotten, and she asked me to call her the next day. 

When I called her the next day, she still sounded awful, but she said she'd been to the doctor the day before, and they'd told her she was dehydrated. They shored her up with some I.V. fluids and sent her back home. She said she was just so tired and weak, that her stomach was upset, and that she was having "stomach issues" (code words for her for diarrhea) and nausea. They told her she'd feel better the next day. She told me she'd call back when she felt better and let me know if she could make the party.

I had to stop by my parents' house the next day. I drove up and parked, but before I could get inside, my mom ran up to me. She'd gotten a call from a hospital in Oregon. My grandma had suffered a heart attack. A friend of hers had shown up when she didn't hear from her, as they'd had plans, and she'd found her on the floor, too weak to move. We were told it was bad, and that we should get out there immediately to say goodbye.

My mom and I flew to Oregon from Colorado that night. My mom's terrified of flying, and our big plane only took us to Portland. We had to get a tiny plane to take us to the mountains, where my grandma lived. (If you've not ridden on a prop plane with someone terrified of flying, you haven't experienced flight.) Her friend picked us up at the little mountain airport and took us directly to the hospital. There, the doctor told us she had suffered multiple heart attacks over the course of three days, and that her heart was in shreds. She wouldn't make it. 

She was conscious and able to talk to us. We slept on chairs in her room that night, as it was late. The nurses slipped in a couple times and put heated blankets on us because it was freezing cold in the room. The next day, my grandmother requested we take her home so she could die in the house she and my grandpa had built. 

In the end, she only lived a few more days, but she lived those final days on a hospital bed in the living room of the mountain home she loved. My mom and I cared for her, and were able to spend those final days with her. My uncle and aunt were able to come up to be with her the last two days, as well.

The truly unfortunate part in all this is that, not only were the symptoms of a heart attack overlooked, but her doctor had taken her off Atenolol, a heart medication she was already on for known heart problems fairly recently, due to surgeries she was having. A simple checking of her medical records should have shown this, and she should have been put back on it after the surgery. Where the error occurred, who knows. Did her doctor not write that he'd taken her off the drug? Did the emergency doctor not check through the records thoroughly? Either way, with a woman in her 70s, it should have been a consideration. Sadly, the chest pain didn't set in until it was too late. Ultimately, she did report pain that felt like an elephant sitting on her chest, but it was close to the end when that occurred. (Her words about this not long before she died later caused me to burst into tears during the movie Something's Gotta' Give, when he reports it feeling like an elephant on his chest.)

Had they treated her for a heart attack after the first one, instead of telling her she was dehydrated, I'm told there was a chance she could have survived. But after three, she stood zero chance.

Make sure the women in your life know that the classic movie symptoms may not be true for them. Especially if they are at known risk for heart problems. The American Heart Association has a lot of good information. Personally, I also recommend knowing what meds they're on, and following up if the meds get changed. It could make a difference.

Thank you again to Cheri and K.C. for stopping by on their blog tour. Be sure to sign up via the Rafflecopter giveaway. And take care of yourselves and your loved ones!

May you find your Muse.