One Heart Among Many. My Call to Go Red
When people ask me about my heart surgeries I usually just say one word. Five. As in five heart surgeries. The first one was at eight weeks old and the last was one year ago at 27. In between those there were three more surgeries and a stroke.
Emotionally speaking going through things like this is a mixed bag. It obviously sits in the back of your mind. And the scars from the surgery make it impossible to ignore 100%. However living in fear is simply not an option for me or for every other woman going through the same thing. At the end of the day it is what it is. What I went through made me stronger and the woman that I am. For better or for worse I’m still here.
So many women silently suffer from heart conditions. By the time you are done reading this three more women will have died. For the millions of women out there that have survived like I have, knowing there is a group of like minded people such as Go Red can be the inspiration we need to just keep going.
As women we have the unique ability to understand, help, and propel each other through hardship. Go Red provides an incredible platform for which we can achieve this. But it doesn’t happen because we’re women. It doesn’t happen simply because Go Red exists. It happens because we are survivors. It happens because we decide to make it happen.
I will leave you with one final thought. While yes we have each other, even more importantly we have ourselves.
Be who you are and don’t ever let anything ever stop that.
