Sarah, born 1980

I was born in 1980 with an undiagnosed congenital heart defect, Coarctation of the Aorta and PDA.  I was a very active toddler with a wheezing problem and my parents were told that I had asthma/allergies and had a whole shoe box full of medications to treat these.

 

I was diagnosed when I was 20 months old and three months later (October 1982), I had surgery to repair coarctation of my aorta and close my PDA.  My life continued on without a hitch or daily medication. I had a baby girl in August 2007 and survived ovarian cancer that year (yes I drew a bad hand at the health table).  In 2008 I did a triathlon and ran a half marathon, in 2009 I ran the Boston Marathon as a charity athlete. Life was swell!

 

At my annual check in December 2009, they discovered the site of my coarctation repair had become an aneurysm. I had this repaired in 2010.  I had a second baby girl in August 2011. I'm currently enjoying life without health issue, spending time on an expat assignment and traveling the world thanks to my husband's wonderful job!

 

Story by Sarah – Pennsylvania