I was sick from Heart Disease; really sick. I had tried everything from natural remedies to prescriptions medications, psychologists, and even meditation. Nothing seemed to pull me from the darkness of my disease, including the accompanying PTSD. I was lost. I was no longer the person I used to be, and struggled to define the…
My Someday: To Be Heart Strong
In 2012, I curled up in my bed, pleading with God to save me from this disease. Life was almost unbearable. I couldn’t keep living the way I was, in and out of the hospital, lost as a person, a stranger in my own skin, and in what felt like one thousand pieces on the…
Moving Past Our Disease And Remembering The Pain
When you hide the pain, you suffocate joy. My boyfriend recently shared with me the following video clip, published by The North Face and titled, “Adventure Not War”. This short video features Stacy Bare, a former United States Army Captain who fought in the Iraq war, eventually came home, and questioned why he lived and…
Congenital Heart Disease is Relentless, But So Are We.
It has taken me about one week to write this post, because I wasn’t ready to face the flood of emotions, let alone discuss something so vulnerable publicly. However, the reason I started this site and blog was to help others who are going through similar circumstances, but too afraid to live their life. My…
Journey Into The Unknown: My Leap of Faith
My fight to live began about 6 years ago when my body attacked itself, causing my heart to fail and almost taking my livelihood. I thought my biggest battle would be clawing out of the black hole that was my health. Back then, everything was just so difficult and I had so much fear for…
Life With Congenital Heart Disease: Why I Climb
I recently returned from a quick getaway to Santa Cruz, filled with rock climbing, hiking, and a stroll along the Boardwalk. My boyfriend found a photo a couple weeks back taken by Chris Burkard on Panther Beach in Santa Cruz, highlighting none other than Chris Sharma. Upon seeing this, we knew our trip needed to…
An Answered Prayer: A Life Without Limits
Six years ago, I sat on my bed, alone in my room and prayed to not be sick someday. I grasped onto the possibility that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, which was unseen. After cardioversion, failed heart procedures, pulmonic valve replacement looming in the future, and PTSD, I didn’t know…
Congenital Heart Disease and Making 86,400 Seconds Count
Each day, we are given 86,400 seconds. Heart disease patients are fully aware that this time is not guaranteed for us; we learn to stretch seconds and compartmentalize them into moments. But what happens when 300 seconds turns into a terrifying medical ordeal? Does it give us the right to throw away the remaining seconds…
Heart Disease: What’s In A Name?
Some of you may be unaware, but there are various forms of heart disease, covering all abnormalities of the heart, including the heart muscle itself, valves and even arteries. Like most diseases, these abnormalities can be present in utero, caused by a viral or bacterial illness, or due to lack of self-care from poor eating…
Hearts For Adventure 