Linda Johns, beloved author and Seattle Public Library librarian, has a tremendous heart. Everyone in the Seattle book community can attest to her generosity of spirit, kindness, and dedication to helping readers.
Now she has taken a great step toward protecting heart health by sharing her recent experiences surviving a heart attack. The heart attack struck at an author event at Queen Anne Book Company, which Linda, bless her, uses in her blog post as an opportunity to celebrate writers she knows and loves: Kristen Kittscher and Kirby Larson, her co-presenters, plus Suzanne Selfors, Sara Nickerson, and Jennifer Longo, who were at the bookstore in support. The event was a presentation about exciting middle grade books featuring daring heroines; we at QABC didn’t expect it to have the real-life drama of a medical emergency, but we’re so, so glad Linda is ok–and helping others learn from her experience!
The quick rundown of Linda’s symptoms:
- Sudden onset flu-like symptoms
- Stabbing back pain between shoulder blades
- Pain radiating down left arm to little finger and ring finger
- Vomiting
- Chest pain (the least of her symptoms)
- Ashen complexion.
Please read and share Linda’s post about the symptoms of heart attacks in women. It could help save a life.