Artist's Notebook: My Adventures With Heart Failure

First came fever

My first symptoms of the whole heart-failure journey were a lot of sweating and shivering. I visited our family doctor, Dr. Klein, who confirmed there was a nasty version of the flu circulating around New York City. I assumed I had caught it from the feverish, moaning kids at the grade school where I teach art part-time.

Eleven teachers, multiple artists, and most of my friends had the bug too. Three cases developed into serious pneumonia. There's no treatment for a bad flu, you just ride out a few miserable weeks.

Next: Much too much breathing, too little air