Heart To Heart With Anna

Send us a textWhat is myocardial bridging? Why might someone with myocardial bridging have a heart attack? What is The Heart Chamber?Boots Knighton is a 45-year-old myocardial bridging survivor from Victor, Idaho, and an avid mountain biker. She suffered a heart attack while biking when she was in her 40s. To correct the myocardial bridging, she underwent open-heart surgery in 2021. Her experiences have inspired her to start a podcast, called “The Heart Chamber,” and she is also working on a book. In this episode, we'll learn about how Boots' condition was diagnosed, why she started a podcast, and how she's also writing a book.Links mentioned in this episode:The Facebook group that saved Boots' life:https://www.facebook.com/groups/MyocardialBridgeBoots' podcast, The Heart Chamber:www.theheartchamberpodcast.com@theheartchamberpodcastBoots' blog:https://suzannebootsknighton.substack.com/Thanks to our newest HUG Patron, Ayrton Beatty and long-standing Patrons: Laura Redfern, Pam Dav

Send us a textDana Henning is mother to Evan Henning, who is a 12-year-old Heart Warrior born with a critical congenital heart defect. Evan has has multiple procedures and open-heart surgeries. His life is very full of therapy appointments, homeschool activities, and extra-curricular activities such as Special Olympics and track.Dana is musically gifted. She is a former music teacher and choir director. These days she homeschools Evan and works as the Mended Little Hearts Austin Coordinator. She also works with the Parent Faculty Advisory Counsel at Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin, Texas. She serves on the Cardiac Patient & Family Partners team and her family is a member of the Dell Children’s Trust.In this episode, Dana talks to Anna about what Mended Little Hearts does for the congenital heart defect community, how she is involved, and some of the activities the Austin Mended Little Hearts organization participates in. Of special note is an event occurring at an ice skating rink in Cedar Park in Apri

Send us a textToday's episode features Vicky Gooden, the author of My Wonder Line and the winner of the 2022 Baby Hearts Press People’s Choice Award. In this episode, we will hear about how Vicky came to write her book, what it meant to her to win the BHP People’s Choice Award, and what the future holds for this very special author and her book.Vicky Gooden is a senior consumer marketing professional with a career spanning over 18 years. She spent 15 years in the creative entertainment industries, working with record labels and broadcast television. She headed up United Kingdom and international marketing teams. Now Vicky is a freelance marketing consultant working with small businesses in industries, including interior design and healthcare.A full-time mother, Vicky, understands the rigors of motherhood. She is a blogger and encourages other bloggers, as well. In the congenital heart defect community, she is probably best known for the book she wrote, My Wonder Line which is a children’s picture book ab

Send us a textWelcome to the 4th and final Medical Monday mini-series episode of Heart to Heart with Anna for Heart Month, February 2023.How can you do heart surgery through a hole in the groin? It seems like magic, but is it? What is a Maze Procedure? Why might someone need a pacemaker, even if they've had an ablation? How can heart valves be replaced via catheterization?Tune in to hear certified, registered nurse anesthetist, Frank Jaworski, explain how these heart surgeries can occur, what kinds of problems doctors face when doing these procedures, and why anyone would want to have a procedure done this way rather than through open-heart surgery.If you enjoyed this episode, you might enjoy the other Medical Monday episodes for Heart Month, February 2023:A Parent Heart-Lung Machine: The Ultimate Gift https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/12289338Medical Monday #2: Monkey Lungs!https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/12242283HeartWorks Update 2023https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/12191542Thanks to our newest HUG Pat

Send us a textThis is the final Heart Dad Sunday mini-series episode for Heart Month, February 2023. Frank Jaworski, Anna Jaworski's husband, and Heart Dad to a single ventricle heart warrior is back as the Guest Host. In this episode he interviews Dan Rodenbaugh.Dan is father to Caylee Rodenbaugh, who was born on June 26, 2009, at St. Luke’s hospital in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Caylee is his fourth daughter, but the first one with a heart condition.Dan Rodenbaugh is 52 years of age and he’s been happily married to Marie for 27 years. He was born with a heart defect and was treated at Children’s Mercy Hospital until he was 18 years old.He had a heart murmur which led to the discovery of his heart condition. Regardless, he did sports, including football, although he tired easier than other athletes his age.In this episode, Frank talks to Dan about growing up with a congenital heart defect, what it was like to find out that his daughter also had a congenital heart defect, and what advice he has for his daug

Send us a textThis is our final episode for our Saturday Success Stories mini-series for Heart Month, February 2023, and it's hard to imagine any greater success story than the 40 Heart Warriors who have come together to create an amazing anthology called The Heart of a Heart Warrior: Congenital Heart Defect Stories of Hope. This is the book that these Heart Warriors and their families and friends would have loved to have read to help them better understand what it means to live a life with a broken heart.Co-editors, Anna Jaworski and Megan Tones, open this podcast by talking about what the process of putting together a book like this has been like. They then take turns, just as they do in the book, with conducting mini-interviews with a handful of Heart Warrior contributors in the 2nd and 3rd segments. You'll hear about new projects these authors are working on, how their lives have changed over the years since this project first came to be, or why they chose the topic they did. Anna hopes even mor

Send us a textWith congenital heart defects being the #1 birth defect around the globe, there are many people touched by this condition. At least 1% of the population is born with a heart defect. Many of them will be innocent murmurs that will close up on their own. But some people have more serious heart conditions.In this special mini-series episode for Heart Month 2023, Anna asks her Listeners to identify some famous movies which depict someone with a congenital heart condition (CHC). Since congenital heart conditions are ubiquitous, it's interesting to see how people with these conditions are portrayed in the movies and what role the CHC plays in the movie's plot. Do you think the movies we chose did a good job of showing the world what it's like to have a CHC? Send us an email to Anna@hearttoheartwithanna.com to let us know what you think!Other Links To CHD in Society episodes you may enjoy:CHDs in Society #3: The Musicians https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/12273541CHDs in Society #2: The A

Send us a textWelcome to the 4th CHD Spotlight episode for Heart Month 2023. Our Expert Guest is HUG MAB member, Chris Donald. Chris Donald is a pediatric cardiology nurse and she was born with a complex congenital heart defect. Chris Donald also serves on the Hearts Unite the Globe Medical Board.Today's CHD Spotlight is on a type of heart defect commonly referred to as “TGA” or “TGV” -- transposition of the great arteries or transposition of the great vessels -- which are synonyms. We'll also learn about the difference between L-TGA and D-TGA, as well as, what cc-TGA means.The other Heart to Heart with Anna episode featuring Chris Donald, RN:Heart Warrior Doctor-Nurse Team: Treating Pediatric Cardiology Patientshttps://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/3725774Thanks to our newest HUG Patron, Ayrton Beatty and long-standing Patrons: Laura Redfern, Pam Davis, Michael Liben, Nancy Jensen, Alicia Lynch, Deena Barber, Carlee McGuire, Carter & Faye Mayberry, and Frank Jaworski. We appreciate you!Support the s

Send us a textHere is another episode in our Wednesday Writer Chat series of “Heart to Heart with Anna.” This is a special mini-series produced for Heart Month, February 2023.Today’s show is Beauty Queen Author and our Guest is Faith Brackett. We’ll start today’s program by learning a bit about Faith and her health condition in Segment 1. In the second segment, we’ll talk about how Faith came to write a book and in the final segment, we’ll talk about how Tablet Talk and how Faith and her sister are working to help other children in the hospital.Faith Brackett was born in the mid-1990s with HLHS. She has had 8 open-heart surgeries and was the first child to undergo what is now known as the bi-ventricle repair. She also received a valve-in-valve tricuspid replacement via the cath lab. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in K-8 Elementary Education and a minor in Psychology. Faith has worn many hats, including educator, advocating for people with CHD, serving with CHD organizations, member of the Ultimate International

Send us a textHow can one mom make a difference when it comes to children born with special needs? What kind of comfort and support is available to children living with a range of illnesses and disabilities? How can you get involved in helping our most vulnerable children feel supported?Lilac Lumpkin is a mom to angel Heart Warrior Jaxon, who was born with HLHS. Jaxon loved many things in his life: pizza, superheroes, mac & cheese, and his mom. He never complained and never gave up. Jaxon lived to 5 years of age - 3 years longer than the doctors expected. To honor his life, Lilac started promoting a charity "Warrior Pets and More" which provides comfort and support to children living with special needs and raises awareness for a range of illnesses and disabilities. The charity provides children with their own “Warrior Pet,” a customized stuffed animal embroidered with the child’s name and inspirational messages and shares the child’s story on their Facebook page. Every year for Jaxon’s birthday,

Send us a textThis is the 3rd episode in our Medical Monday mini-series for Heart Month, February 2023.  What pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon seemed "too Hollywood"? Why? What is cross circulation and what was this experimental technique the predecessor of?  This Medical Monday episode deals with an amazing experimental surgical technique developed by Dr. C. Walton Lillehei. Frank and Anna Jaworski talk about what they learned about this procedure in the book King of Hearts by Rhode Island writer, G. Wayne Miller. Dr. C. Walton Lillehei used cross circulation on 45 patients in the 1950s to operate on children with congenital heart defects. These children would have died without some form of surgical intervention. Not all of his surgeries were successful using this experimental technique, but it is amazing how many of his patients did survive! This technique was used on the first successful surgery to correct ventricular septal defect, atrioventricular canal defect, and tetralogy of Fallot. Thanks

Send us a textHere is another Heart Dad Sunday episode for Heart Month, February 2023. Like the other two episodes, this episode also features Heart Dad Frank Jaworski as the Guest Host. Today's Guest is Carl Wolford.Carl Wolford was born with total anomalous pulmonary venous return or TAPVR and had surgery by Dr. Denton Cooley at 4 months of age in January 1958 at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas. Carl was Dr. Cooley’s second successful case of this heart defect and the first one is now Carl’s friend.Carl participated in a lifetime of sports: baseball, tennis, golf, anything with a ball and Carl was there. He even tried snow skiing–during which time he became aware of a problem with high altitudes and thin air when a person has a congenital heart condition.Carl’s biggest passion is pool. He tours mostly the southern United States in tournaments. One of his goals was to win a national championship, which happened 3 years ago in Las Vegas. His new goal is to add a state title or two to his resu

Send us a textWhy would a pair of teen sisters be interested in working with the American Heart Association? How can these sisters make a difference? How much money do these young ladies plan to raise and how can you get involved?This is the 2nd Saturday Success Story in our Heart Month 2023 mini-series! This features two sisters who have been impacted by congenital heart defects. My Loyal Listeners will remember when I interviewed their mother, Jessica Gutierrez-Rodriguez in Season 6 (Seizing the Day with Jessica Gutierrez-Rodriguez), or in Season 10 (Discovering Hidden Talents in Our Heart Warriors); however, this is the first time for her daughters to come on the program.Marianne and Angelica attend Great Hearts Monte Vista North School and are in the 8th and 9th grades. The girls have always been very close. Marianne does recreational fencing and is part of the National Hispanic Institute Great Debate San Antonio team. Angelica loves taking piano lessons. These young ladies have been nominated for the 202

Send us a textWith congenital heart defects being the #1 birth defect around the globe, there are many people touched by this condition. At least 1% of the population is born with a heart defect. Many of them will be innocent murmurs that will close up on their own. But some people have more serious heart conditions.In this special mini-series episode for Heart Month 2023, Anna asks her Listeners to identify some famous musicians who have been touched by CHDs. So many people think that if they have a heart defect, they won't have the stamina to become great at what they love. That’s not true, my friends, and the following FOUR people are an example of how people can still excel, despite having a heart defect. Do you know who these people are? See if you can guess!Links to other shows you may enjoy:Paul CardallThe Broken Miraclehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/9193481Heart Dad Sunday -- A Child’s Role in Transplant Recovery for a Heart Dadhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/12186961Myles SchweitzerSeizing th

Send us a textThis is the 3rd episode in our CHD Spotlight mini-series and we'll be talking about Tetralogy of Fallot.Our expert Guest is Roslyn Rivera and she is a pediatric cardiology nurse who was also born with a congenital heart defect. In this episode, Roslyn shares with Anna what tetralogy of Fallot is, who coined the term for this complex congenital heart condition, what methods are used to palliate the condition, what some possible causes of the condition are, and survival rates for babies born with ToF.In the second segment, Roslyn even shares the name of a famous athlete born with ToF, proving that ToF doesn't have to mean that a person will have an inferior life and that there is great hope for babies born with this heart condition today.Other Heart to Heart with Anna episodes featuring Rosyln Rivera, RN:Congenital Heart Defects Around the Globe: The Novak Cardiac Alliancehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/398936A View From the Other Side of the Bedhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/499730Nu

Send us a textThis is another episode in our Wednesday Writer Chat mini-series of Heart to Heart with Anna for Heart Month, February 2023.We’ll start today’s program by learning a bit about Maggie and her daughter’s health condition in Segment 1. In the second segment, we’ll talk about how Maggie came to write her book for the CHD community and in the final segment we’ll get some advice from Maggie and learn what her plans are for the future.Maggie Schmeider is an author and a self-proclaimed dabbler! She loves learning and when she finds something she loves, she pours her heart and soul into making that something little into something big. Her first book was A Very Divvy Day which captures her love for animals, whimsy, and words. Maggie is married to Derek and together they have two daughters–Ebby and Wynnie, dogs Dottie and Archie, and a pet hamster named Divvy! Maggie’s second daughter, Wynnie, has had a chronic heart condition which seems to be under better control now, but we’ll learn more about that in

Send us a textWhat are some special considerations that need to be made for the mental health of someone born with a cardiac condition? Why should there be a book specifically for understanding the mental and emotional development of people born with critical congenital heart conditions requiring multiple open-heart surgeries?  What makes counselors, born with congenital cardiac conditions themselves, the perfect people to write such a book?Tracy Livecchi received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Rutgers University. She has worked in a variety of settings as a private therapist, a clinical director, as well as a consultant for long-term care in hospital settings. She has been working as a psychotherapist in private practice since 1998, and currently provides psychotherapy to individual adults, adolescents, and couples in her Westport practice. She works from an eclectic theoretical orientation and provides supportive counseling while also utilizing cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, and trauma-infor

Send us a textThis is the second episode in our Heart Month 2023 Medical Monday series. In last week's Wednesday Writer Chat, Anna talked to author Richard Schwindt about his life and he was born in the 1950s with a congenital heart condition. He informed Anna that monkey lungs helped to keep him alive through one of his surgeries. Curious about what procedure would utilize monkey lungs, Anna did some research and found an article in the December 2021 journal Perfusion Theory and she shared it with her husband, who is a certified, registered nurse anesthetist. He also looked deeper on the Internet to see what he could find out about this curious time in congenital heart disease history.This episode not only reveals what Frank and Anna discovered online but some personal anecdotes from Frank about working in the operating room, as well as some interesting facts about Dr. William Thornton Mustard. Links mentioned in this episode:Dr, Mustard’s Macabre Monkey Machine by Gary Grist and Kelly Hedlundhttps://pe

Send us a textWhy would a heart dad decide to host a podcast? Why would he write a book for the congenital heart defect community? What has this dad learned from having a child with a heart defect? Tom and Kat Hansen are parents to Audrey and Harding. In 2014, Harding was diagnosed with multiple congenital heart defects in utero, for which he has undergone three open-heart surgeries and multiple other procedures. Inspired by their journey with Harding, Tom and his wife wrote a book and then they started a podcast, The Hope and Courage Podcast for CHD Parents, where they share their insights and interview experts and people with a lived experience of CHD. Their book Hope and Courage: Real-Life Lessons from the Parents of a Child with Congenital Heart Disease was released in 2022. A former high school math teacher, Tom is currently a corporate trainer and instructional designer. Tom’s family lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and they enjoy going on adventures together.Links for more information about Tom and Kat Hansen

Send us a textHow safe is it for a woman born with hypoplastic right heart syndrome to get pregnant and carry a baby to term? What considerations need to be made when Heart Warriors with complex CHDs decide to get pregnant? What advice does a Heart Warrior Mom have for others considering having a baby?Katelynn Scoggins was born with a critical congenital heart defect known as hypoplastic right heart syndrome. Unlike many people born with HRHS, she has not had the Fontan Procedure. She has done very well medically. Katie was homeschooled and she and I have known each other forever! She is a Texan, and she was an intern with Hearts Unite the Globe for a while and I even got her to attend Toastmasters meetings with me in Gatesville. We also worked together with the Texas Chapter of the Children's Heart Foundation. Katie and Christopher Scoggins were married in May 2018. They welcomed their son, Isaiah, into the world in December 2019. She’s coming on the show today to tell us about her journey to parenthood