About Me (In My Own Words)
I'm 29 years old and a survivor of Congenital Heart Disease. Supra Valvular Aortic Stenosis. I thank God because he is the reason I am writing this now. I have had 3 open-heart surgeries. The 1st surgery when I was 2 1/2yrs old, my narrowed aortic valve was opened. A couple of months after surgery, I was still having problems. The Heart surgeon told my mother that the only way anyone could tell that he had operated on me was from the scar on my chest, nonetheless, he said he "wouldn't touch my heart again with a ten foot pole". It took over a year to find another heart surgeon to figure out what and how to operate on me. At age 4, I had my 2nd surgery. Nearly the same operation was done and lasted for several years. And then my health began to decrease again. At age 10, I had my 3rd surgery. This time, 85% of my aortic valve was replaced with Dacron. The surgeon put extra material so that when my body grew as I aged, there would be enough so that I might not have to do another surgery. Everyone had just hoped for it to last at least 15yrs, it's lasted almost 20yrs. I have had a few issues since then but nothing real extreme. Although, living with heart disease can be stressful at times and somewhat depressing. The last 3 or 4 years, arthritis has built up in my sternum which is very painful.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Lepanto, Arkansas
