I went from thinking I had anxiety to planning my own funeral – don’t dismiss the signs like I did

A WOMAN says she went from thinking she had anxiety to planning her own funeral in a matter of months.

Maggie Jane Colvill was scrolling through her phone when she felt her heart start to race and was unable to catch her breath.

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Dismissing her symptoms as a minor panic attack, the 24-year-old carried on with life as normal.

But a second attack had Maggie fearing for her life and being rushed to A&E.

Doctors later diagnosed her with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPWS) – an abnormal heartbeat that causes the organ to pump very fast.

The condition is present at birth but often doesn’t surface until later in life, according to the NHS.

The social work student, from Sheffield, said: “I was terrified that I was going to die and my parents wouldn’t be there.

“I just kept thinking that I was going to die and it would be my little sister who was going to find my body and how traumatised that would leave her.

“I remember being really scared and overwhelmed and just wanting it all to stop.

“Everyone was telling me it was a panic attack, but I knew there was something else that was wrong.”

The first attack in May 2022 lasted about 10 minutes, but Maggie didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t until the second attack, over a year later in April 2023, that she became worried.

“With the first palpitations, I thought it was some kind of panic attack,” Maggie said.

“I did think it was weird because I don’t suffer from panic attacks and I’m not an anxious person, but I didn’t think too much into it.

“During the second attack, I was just watching TV and my heart started beating incredibly fast and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.

“Everything I was trying wasn’t helping it to slow down and it was just getting worse.”

Maggie’s parents were in New York at the time and her younger sister was at the library studying for the A Levels, which only worsened her distress.

“I thought I was having a heart attack and that this was it for me, I would be found dead on my bedroom floor,” she said.

“I called 999 and they said that I needed to get to A&E immediately, but there were two-hour waits for ambulances, so I called one of my friends and luckily she was able to take me.”

I was terrified that I was going to die.

Maggie Jane Colvill

Medics ran tests at the hospital and her heart rate slowly returned to normal over the next two hours.

But she had to wait five months to discover that WPWS had triggered her breathing difficulties.

She was also told that her heart wall on the left side was thicker than the other, which required surgery.

“I never expected that,” Maggie said.

“I thought that it would be some sort of medication that they would put me on, so when the cardiologist told me I needed an operation, I was very shocked and I didn’t really know what to say.

“Luckily my dad was there because I was very scared. No one expects to be having heart surgery at 24.”

The proposed procedure aims to cure the disease by fusing the hole in her heart back together.

But the risks are high. There’s a one in 200 chance Maggie could have a heart attack during the operation, and a one in 1,000 possibility she will die.

However, her odds of survival without it are much lower.

‘WHY ME?’

“When I first heard the risks, I was absolutely terrified,” she said.

“I just kept thinking, ‘I am way too young for this’, and about all the things I haven’t yet done.

“When I got home from the hospital, I think I cried about it on and off for three days.

“I remember thinking, ‘Why me? I am healthy and I have always taken care of my body – so how did this happen to me?’

“It did bring me some sort of peace knowing I was born with it, so actually there wasn’t anything I could have done differently.

“But the emotional toll has been quite a lot. It’s one thing to process a heart condition at a young age, but surgery with a high risk of death is another thing.

“It’s a scary thing to go through at any age, but to go through it while you’ve got so much life ahead of you and so much left you want to achieve, is another type of fear.”

The terror pushed Maggie to create a will and start planning her own funeral.

“I’ve made a list of things to do with the service and all my belongings just in case,” she said.

“I have also written letters to people with my final words to them.”

I was absolutely terrified. I just kept thinking, ‘I am way too young for this’.

Maggie Jane Colvill

Despite the upcoming surgery, scheduled for February 2024, and the potential complications, Maggie remains positive, always trying to look on the bright side.

“I try not to think about it too much and just enjoy my life before the surgery, just in case,” she said.

“I am keeping positive by surrounding myself with my friends and family, who are very supportive.

“Also, I’ve been throwing myself into my university work and I’m really enjoying my course.

“I’m raising money for the British Heart Foundation which has really helped me stay positive because it’s helped me turn such a negative situation into something that can help people.

“Oh, and I’m listening to a lot of Taylor Swift.”

Maggie said if she survives the surgery, she hopes to see the pop star live in concert with her best friend.

“It will be a dream come true,” she added.

“I also can’t wait to finish my degree and go on to help vulnerable young people.

“I would love to do work with young offenders, or children who experienced abuse.

“If the surgery goes well, I have so many things I want to do and achieve and the surgery will be the first stepping stone to me starting my life properly with no fears.”

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