Cherie's Profile

I was diagnosed with a rheumatic heart fever at a young age, maybe age 7 or 8 and I was raised by my grandparents in the Republic of Palau. My grandfather took me to heart specialists on yearly basis, when they visited, and I was told I will be needing an open heart surgery when I get older. I didn't take their words seriously. I moved to the island of Guam a few years later and at age 25, I ended up in the hospital and doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. They ran so many tests trying to figure out what was wrong until 3 months later I was discharged. Two months later I was back in the hospital and from there they informed me I needed an open heart surgery. I was med-evac from Guam to Los Angeles to Good Samaritan Hospital and had my first open heart surgery in November 2012. The procedure was an aortic valve replacement with a bovine tissue valve. The surgeon told me a tissue valve is only good for 10-15 years and that I would need another surgery. This time I took to heart his words and made sure I would prepare for the next surgery. Several months later I got married and a few years after I was pregnant with our daughter. Since then my husband and I have been saving money for the big operation. That big operation was on 29 October 2025 and Dr. Chikwe was my surgeon!