I am walking in the Twin Cities Heart Walk on May 30, 2026, because of the impact heart disease has had on my family. Our first exposure was my grandpa’s bypass surgery and later diagnosis of congestive heart failure. My mom was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with complications of Atrial Fibrillation. Then my brother was also diagnosed with HCM, and I carry the gene mutation for this disease. My nephew was diagnosed in utero with heart malformations, and we waited anxiously to see if he would need immediate surgery as a newborn. He did not and is a thriving 9-year-old with yearly follow-ups to monitor his heart.

In 2025, my mom’s condition changed and she needed to have an implantable cardiac defibrillator placed to act as primary prevention for Sudden Cardiac Death related to her HCM. Because of this change she encouraged all of us to be seen and get an echocardiogram to rule out any changes.

 I scheduled a cardiology visit and extra heart beats were found on my EKG. I had been struggling with fatigue and shortness of breath for quite a while but thought it was from my asthma. My Dr. ordered an echocardiogram because of the extra beats and my symptoms. During the echo it was found that my aorta was leaking blood back into my heart and I had a bicuspid valve instead of the more normal tricuspid valve.  Further tests determined that the only way to fix this leakage was to replace my aortic valve! At 43! On October 21, 2025, I had open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve. After waking up in ICU I learned that my valve was shredded and I was very lucky that it had held together until I could have surgery.

I’m doing well today and I am very grateful that I listened to my mom and didn’t put off that cardiologist visit! I’m hoping that my story will inspire you to help me reach my goal of $1500 to support the important work of The American Heart Association. Next year my walk will be in Wisconsin!