Motherhood and heart failure are never two things I thought I would face in the same calendar year? It is not a topic that most new mom groups discuss or a common hurdle most moms face.

PPCM has a habit of making moms feel stranded in their illness. At a time in our lives where everything is changing, our body, hormones, parenthood, sleeping patterns, it seems like a particularly cruel time to be diagnosed with a relatively rare illness. A new baby is change enough but sometimes life doesn’t work out that way….

This is a challenge we survivors face. A strange paradox of one the happiest moments in life, firmly entwined with one of the scariest. So we balance new baby groups, dirty diapers, and well, heart failure meds and doctors appointments. We rely on family and friends. We try our best and some days it is enough and other days it is not. Being a survivor doesn’t come with handbook nor a directory of others struggling with PPCM. Luckily, we are connected these days with more than geography or pen and paper. We have online support groups, websites, and social media. So in a time where we feel most of our life is out of control, we can take control of this aspect of the disease and seek a deeper support.