Peace Corps Deja Vu

This week has had three strange occurrences for me that have either involved my old Peace Corps stomping grounds (i.e. Bulgaria) or with Peace Corps itself. I know I haven't really written much if anything at all about my experiences there. I try. I really do. I begin to tell stories and I can see peoples' eyes glaze over as the words go over their heads. The old saying, "you had to be there," is an understatement in my case. But, those fellow RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) know what I'm talking about. So, let's review the past week:

#1: I get a message from a Bulgarian girl (naturalized citizen) who now lives in the U.S. She's researching the Peace Corps for a project in one of her university studies. She came across my article in A Life Inspired: Tales of Peace Corps Service and was so touched by my story about her home that she almost cried and felt compelled to write me and thank me. Me?! How bizarre to have a Bulgarian thanking me for my service, which feels like it was a lifetime ago. If anything, I've always felt like I should be thanking them, all the Bulgarians that welcomed us unconditionally into their homes, hearts and lives. It was a surreal moment reading her email. Nostalgia knocking at my door. Bittersweet memories that seem to be from another life.

#2: I found out that HGTV is doing a special on home-buying in Bulgaria. Really? Bulgaria? And, not just anywhere in Bulgaria. These Brits are buying a condo in Varna. My old site. It floored me to see my old stomping grounds were both different and the same. My how Varna's changed. For the better, I hope.

#3: Last, but certainly not least our figurehead and co-founder, the head-honcho himself Sargent Shriver passed away. A great man, one we can all aspire to live our lives like. A true philanthropist and peace-maker. "One of the brightest lights of the greatest generation" ~President Barack Obama.

So, I'm beginning to feel like the circle is coming full round. Is it a sign? Or just a strange string of coincidences? I'll let you be the judge.

A. 31 yrs old., B. Healthy, C. Heart surgery: Which one of these does not belong?

You read right. I've been pretty quiet about this to most people except close family and friends but I am scheduled for a cardiac ablation at the end of this month. Only one week before our move. I feel like telling the cosmos..."Go ahead. No really, throw a little more stress on there. I can take it."

At least I have to be thankful that it is a relatively common procedure with only a 1% risk of complications for someone of my age (though the complications are pretty severe). I can't really complain though. There are so many others in the world that have it much worse than I do, but I'm not ready to put on my 'big girl panties' and deal with this just yet. As a family friend and RN told my mother-in-law, "they do this procedure all the time but, it's nothing to sneeze at."

I'm only 31, I'm the picture of health. So, why do I need to have surgery? I was diagnosed (after 10 yrs. of misdiagnosis, by the way) with Supraventricular Tachycardia. What the heck is that, I asked. Basically, I've got a super-enthusiastic heart that has a short-circuit and gets so excited that it misfires by accident sending my heartbeat racing from 60 beats a minute to 220 beats a minute. Yipee!  It's a heart arrhythmia and it's one of the few (if only) heart disorders with an approximately 97% cure rate. Lucky me.

The plus side, I finally have an explanation for why I've passed out twice for no explainable reason - ending up being medically evacuated from Peace Corps back to the states for the first episode and scaring a bus-load of passengers on their way to work from Union Station in Denver and freaking out my doctor  (and myself) who thought I was having a heart-attack for the second episode.  And, it explains why my heart suddenly races for no reason like getting up from a chair or picking up a box and just as quickly as it comes on... it stops! 

The down-side, I really REALLY don't want surgery. The idea of any surgery especially one that messes with my heart is particularly unnerving, even if it is 'common'. So, my request to you: well-wishes for me and my family who are just as nervous about this as I am.  Thanks!