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Kelly Manz, Missouri Chloe's Law, named after Kelly Manz’s daughter, will finally reach the Governor’s desk in 2013! Kelly has worked long and hard to ensure that all Missouri hospitals will be required to screen newborn babies for congenital heart defects with Pulse Oximetry before...

Kyler Nixon Council Bluffs It doesn’t get any more personal for Jenny Nixon after working over 10 years for the American Heart Association. In February 2012 her son Kyler’s active life of sports was quickly put to a halt after an MRI showed abnormal thickness in the left ventricle of his...

Lynn Paulson South Dakota For two years, I played a dangerous game with my heart. I kept experiencing a racing heart and shortness of breath episodes that lasted a few minutes at a time. With my busy work and travel schedule, I just chalked it up to normal anxiety and stress, but when my symptoms...

Megan Koenigs Kansas At the age of 25, I went into cardiac arrest. On On April 29th, I was rushed to the hospital and no hope was given to my family that I would live. I went through hypothermia treatment and was in a coma for 4 days. They weren't sure if I would have any brain damage or if the...

Jill Duis Nebraska I have walked with heart disease my entire life. I was born with a complete heart block, meaning the top part of my heart didn't communicate with the bottom part, which meant my heart would only beat 40 beats per minute – about half the normal rate. My parents were...

Mary Kay Miller Nebraska I am surrounded by loved ones with heart disease and stroke. I lost my mom and my husband to heart disease. My son had heart surgery when he was not quite 2 years old. Then, after being told he could no longer participate in sports, he became an all-class state champion...

Pam Gaines Nebraska When heart disease strikes, it does not differentiate between sex, age, or severity. It can be devastating both emotionally and physically. I can tell you that it can be a life changing event and that it should be taken seriously. I am a nurse and a heart attack survivor, and I...

Kelsey Neal Nebraska I had a cardiac arrest when I was 13 years old. My parents found me on the floor in my bedroom. At the time they did not know what happened, but they noticed that I wasn't breathing. My mom called 911 and my dad started CPR. The only training that he had had was from was from...

Ethan and Polly Rames South Dakota Our 3rd son, Ethan, was born with a congenital heart defect known as Transposition of the Great Vessels. We were fortunate that the excellent staff at our local hospital discovered his condition prior to his birth so that we could prepare for the most difficult experience...

Brendon Spear Missouri Our son Brendon was born a SURVIVOR and we are so blessed to have him in our lives! Three days shy of Brendon turning 19 months of age he was diagnosed as having suffered a stroke while in utero (womb). As a result of the stroke he has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy,...

Austin Redd Missouri I left for school the morning of May 13, 2010 just like any other morning...but that day would end up very different than the rest. I collapsed at school because of what we now know was an undetected birth defect. I had no warning signs before my collapse. Due to the quick...

Melissa Shelton Missouri At 18, I lost my sister, Shari to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). She was a student at Mizzou, seemingly healthy, with a happy zest for life. We had big plans for Fall, when I would rush the same sorority and hopefully room with her. At 30, with a young daughter, I started having...

Terry Whitney Iowa I am lucky to be alive and am enjoying being a first-time grandpa, compliments of my only child and lifesaver. Four years ago, Erica, then 22, found the calm strength and focus needed to provide CPR on me when I suffered a massive heart attack at home Thanksgiving weekend. Erica...

Don Bernhagen North Dakota Two months after suffering a cardiac arrest, I was alive to welcome my first grandchild to the world. Three years ago while working at my job in construction at a local school, I suffered sudden cardiac arrest and slumped to the floor. A bystander quickly started CPR...

Sally Sharp Missouri I died on January 19, 2011. My story begins on a typical school day...nothing was out of the ordinary and the day was going according to plan. Then, that all changed. I was sitting in my classroom beginning to eat lunch with some of my co-workers. Things began to go terribly wrong...

Michelle Tipton North Dakota I lost my teen age son to a congenital heart defect. On March 25 th , 1999, I was the mother of two boys, Shannon, 17 and Dustin, 12. Around noon, I received a phone call from Shannon’s high school. He did not make it to school that day. My father found Shannon dead...

Jeremy Aylward South Dakota My journey began when I was in the seventh grade. I was diagnosed with bicuspid aortic valve stenosis and insufficiency with ascending aorta dilatation and left ventricular hypertrophy. At the age of 18, I underwent my first open-heart surgery, a total aortic valve replacement...

Tom and Kim Cariveau North Dakota At age 50, Tom suffered a stroke while working as a physician in a clinic. Thankfully, he was at the right place at the right time and received the immediate care he needed to minimize the impact of his stroke. The cause of Tom’s stroke is still unknown, but...

Jonathan Lockie, Iowa “Essentially, our son has half a heart.” My mind spun as my husband summarized our newborn’s list of congenital heart defects. Jonathan’s best chance of survival was a series of three open heart surgeries, countless procedures, and months in the hospital...