Home > Heart Surgery Blog > Patient Stories > From Heart Valve Patients to Lifelong Friends: Rebecca & Laura’s Story

From Heart Valve Patients to Lifelong Friends: Rebecca & Laura’s Story

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: September 15, 2026

One of the most wonderful things about our community is watching relationships grow far beyond the computer screen. Patients often first meet online during some of the most challenging moments of their lives — searching for answers, preparing for heart valve surgery, and connecting with others who truly understand what they are going through. Then, sometimes years later, those online friendships become real-life reunions. That is exactly what happened for Rebecca Schneider and Laura West, two mitral valve patients whose friendship began more than a decade ago.

Laura (left) and Rebecca (right)

Rebecca and Laura first connected in the HeartValveSurgery.com community in 2013. Rebecca lives in Austin, Texas, while Laura lives in Indiana, but the distance did not stop them from developing a lasting friendship. After two unsuccessful attempts to visit Laura, Rebecca finally made it to Indiana this week — 13 years after they first met online! Rebecca sent me the wonderful picture above, with Laura on the left and Rebecca on the right, and wrote:

In 2013 Laura West and I met in the community on the website. We struck up a friendship and have remained friends all these years. I am from Austin and Laura lives in Indiana. After two failed attempts to travel to Indiana, I finally made it this week. We are having a great time!!! Thank you, Adam, for HeartValveSurgery.com.

What makes their reunion even more special is how well both women are doing after their journeys with mitral valve disease. Laura underwent a mitral valve repair in 2012, and 14 years later, Rebecca reports that Laura’s repair is still doing great. Rebecca has had her own remarkable heart valve journey. Earlier this year, she received her second mitral valve via transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR).

SAPIEN M3 Mitris Resilia TMVR System (Edwards Lifesciences)

As Rebecca happily shared with me:

Laura's mitral repair from 2012 is doing great. I got my second mitral in January via TMVR. Amazing!!!

Stories like Rebecca and Laura’s are a beautiful reminder that the heart valve journey is about so much more than diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. It is also about the people we meet along the way. To think that two patients struggling with mitral valve disease found each other online in 2013, supported one another for years, and are now together in Indiana enjoying their friendship in person is incredibly touching. From heart valve patients to lifelong friends — Rebecca and Laura, thank you for sharing this very special moment with all of us!

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

Follow 450K