Lauren's Profile

I had a wilms tumour (cancer in my kidney) when I was 2, and from the radiation and chemotherapy it has affected my heart. I had always known I had a leak in my mitral valve, but when I was pregnant last year it became so much worse from the excess blood. At 35 weeks I started to go into heart failure which scared the crap out of me, so I delivered my daughter Scarlett is emergency c section September 13th 2016. I am 33 so my cardiologist tried to settle it with medication which it did work for 2 or 3 months, then the shortness of breath started again, couldn't lay flat, and the swelling started again. I went back to my cardiologist and he said it was time for surgery, we wanted to have it done while my daughter was still young so she wouldn't be so needy of me. I went and saw the surgeon 2 weeks later and was in surgery a week after that. He tried to repair my mitral valve and wasn't happy with it so he ended up replacing it which I am grateful for.