I am Natalie MacCoy, I am the typical 14 year old girl. I go to school, have a little sister, enjoy being outside, and have four wonderful pets. My whole life, I have lived with a heart condition called subaortic stenosis.
On April 15th 2021, I went to Boston Children's Hospital for open-heart surgery, to fix this condition. I was very nervous, but Boston's team was great and helped me through every step. So a big THANK YOU to them for everything. If you or a loved one have received care there, you would know that they are simply the very best at what they do!
After my surgery, I had rare conditions called pericardial effusion and complete heart block. I had the heart block coming out of surgery. Now what is a heart block you might be asking? It is a condition where the upper chambers of your heart are having like a little argument with the bottom chambers. This caused me to have to stay in CICU (Cardiac intensive care unit) longer and keep my pacemaker in for an extended period of time.
After this resolved, I went home and started getting sharp pains in my chest for no reason. This was a pericardial effusion, one of many. My heart was in terrible pain. When I went to my cardiologist, she said the pain was from fluid surrounding my heart in the heart sack. Yes, this was rare, but I wasn't in the mood to take any more bad news. Luckily, this also resolved eventually, and I was back to doing the things I loved, including spending time with my new dog that December, Oliver.
This whole experience made me a better person as I am stronger, braver and more tolerant, realizing that anything is possible no matter who you are. All of us have a journey, so why not share it with people, your family, or perhaps someday the whole world. I believe all of us have the ability to help each other if we just try.
So, I'm offering you a chance to join my team, or to just read my story. Either way my hope is that by sharing my experience it will help others to push through the cloudy days and see clear to the sun. So please take a moment and think about others, the world will thank you for it, because I already do as you cared to read this far. Thank you for listening and for your great support!!!!!!
Natalie MacCoy
PS: A big shout out to those who are survivors in the walk and even those survivors who are not in the walk! You are amazing and I wish you all the best!
