All About The Heart: Kristin Jennings Long Road Of Recovery Brought Her All The Way To Nationals

She played singles, mixed and doubles in the tournament, making it to the finals. A week later, she played in another tournament and still felt weak.

Days later, she was in urgent care, hooked up to machine that was revealing a very abnormal EKG. The next stop was a cardiologist, who said she needed open heart surgery because her arteries were blocked.

“I was shocked and scared, because we were now getting into the time where we knew COVID was spreading, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get the surgery I needed for my heart,” she said. “We obviously had no idea where COVID was going, but we were really starting to get into it, and I was supposed to go home? And what — wait until they could do something, when I knew my heart was in trouble?”

She sought out a second opinion, finding a cardiologist in Phoenix who recognized the urgency and scheduled a timely operation. She received six stents, four more than the original diagnosis, and her new reality was recovery.

“I don’t believe I would be alive if I had waited, I wouldn’t be here — it was that serious,” Jennings, a retired court reporter, said. “It was all incredibly sobering, as I realized that I was having all the symptoms of like a clear cardiac event, and I am out there trying to play pickleball. I was so determined to play that I ignored my own health, and I could have had a heart attack.”

Jennings was relieved to learn her heart had not been damaged. She had the stents, her arteries were now open, and her heart was still strong. Playing pickleball and working on nutrition became part of her recovery. She returned to competitive play in 2021, taking part in seven small tournaments. In 2022 and 2023, she played locally and in club tournaments, working on improving her stamina and level of play.

But Jennings had lingering health issues, with her muscles feeling strange, and she suffered from hematomas, which are collections of broken blood vessels that can happen anywhere in the body. She was taking her prescribed blood thinners, but they were causing side effects that she hated.

She found a homeopathic doctor, and together they discovered she was diabetic. She has removed sugars from her diet, working on limiting inflammation. The results on her hard work became clear at the start of 2024.

She felt nearly back to normal, with the evidence of losing 30 pounds and being off nearly all the post-procedure cardiac medication. Jennings was turning 70 in 2024 and wanted to make a personal statement of her regained good health.

Jennings was back to playing pickleball at least three days per week and felt her strength was good. She set the goal: to play in the national championships again. Jennings had played at nationals in 2017, winning a bronze medal in 4.5 singles in her age group.

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