Marisa's Profile

It begins long before my diagnosis in January 2010. As a child I knew I was different, I felt different. I wasn’t overweight but couldn’t keep up with the other kids. I got sick more often than all my siblings combined. My parents thought me to be a hypochondriac as I spent hours reading the Family Medical Journal and encyclopedias desperately looking for answers. Fast forward to Christmastime 2009….I was at rest and my heart was racing. I was having palpitations and angina, felt short of breath. I was 28, healthy weight though a heavy smoker but it didn’t feel right. I called my mom. She said to call my doctor. My doctor listened to my symptoms and requested a cardiologist. The cardiologist suggested an angiogram. After the angiogram the cardiologist immediately stated I was to speak to a surgeon. My surgeon recommended surgery as my diagnosis was congenital bicuspid valve and aortic aneurysm. It was not what I was expecting to hear but I had the answer to all my questions, finally. The prospect of open heart surgery was definitely scary, but worth the end result, which is a new lease on life. And so much more. February 23, 2010 was the day my new life began. My surgeon saved me. I now am the proud owner of a “zipper” and a mechanical heart valve. My valve ticks like a clock and I’ll be taking warfarin for life. But I have a life. And that’s what counts. I think of my surgeon and the nurses who took care of me all the time, and am eternally grateful for them.