Both the twins were active beforehand, going hiking and kayaking, but Nicole now says that even getting her shopping in from the car can leave her breathless.
At cardiac rehab sessions, she learns gentle exercise, advice on pacing and how to deal with the emotional side of the diagnosis.
“It has given me my life back,” she says.
“It has given me my confidence back.”
Farrah, on the other hand, says: “Cardiac rehab was not offered to me in the Northern Trust – I’ve fought for everything and not got the same help as Nicole did.”
Asked how she feels that her sister can access services that she can’t, Farrah says “very angry, scared and upset because I still live in fear”.
“I’m scared to go to sleep in case I don’t wake up again.”
She says she doesn’t know what exercise she can do, as she does not know her limits as she has not had that specialist help of someone saying, “you can push yourself a bit harder” or “oh no, that’s too much”.
She says having cardiac rehab like her sister would allow for supervision and oversight in a safe environment.
The sisters would also like to see better awareness around heart failure symptoms and investment to allow those affected to get continuity of care.
