Heart To Heart With Anna

Send us a textWhy would doctors choose to spend time volunteering in another country and creating a nonprofit organization to save children’s lives overseas?Dr. Tom Forsberg and Dr. Chad Hoyt are co-founders of Healing Hearts Vietnam. Dr. Forsberg is an emergency physician with Centra Health in Central Virginia.  He currently serves in four emergency departments throughout the region. Dr. Chad Hoyt specializes in advanced cardiovascular imaging and has been in partnership with Centra Health for the past sixteen years. He currently serves as the executive medical director of Centra’s Heart & Vascular Center, a busy four-hospital system with seven office locations and forty clinical providers. For nearly a decade, Dr. Forsberg and Dr. Hoyt have shared their expertise with Vietnam. During their trips, they became aware of the great need for cardiac surgeries in children. Upon returning from Vietnam, Dr. Forsberg led the charge to form Healing Hearts Vietnam which was established in 2015. Today, Healing Heart

Send us a textWhat was it like to be a parent of a baby with a critical congenital heart defect over 30 years ago? What was life like for Susan, Nick, and the rest of the family after Nick received a heart transplant? Why would an author choose to revise a book about her son's medical journey?Susan May is mom to Nick, 32, who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, transposition of the great arteries, coarctation of the aorta, and a septal defect.  He had three surgeries at 5 days, 3 1/2 months, and one year of age, prior to receiving a heart transplant just before his second birthday. Nick is one of the first children in the US to receive a heart transplant and is the 5th longest living transplant recipient. Today, he is married with a daughter. Susan has written a book about her son's heart journey, with a revised edition released this year. Susan also writes professionally and has written 40 books in total, including a nonfiction book about a World War II flight surgeon and 33 medical roma

Send us a textEach Monday in February we've been broadcasting a special episode of "Heart to Heart with Anna" featuring different medical devices or products. Today's episode is the last of the four Medical Monday programs and features Greg Hummer, a Senior Technical Services Specialist for Abbott.Most of the Medical Monday programs were relatively short, but Mr. Hummer talked about 4 different devices! Are you curious about the different kinds of pacemakers available? What makes an ICD different from a pacemaker? What kind of rhythm problems do pacemakers treat? What about leadless devices?  Are they science fact or fiction?Tune in for a lesson on arrhythmias heart failure, the progression some Heart Warriors face as they age, and the devices that can improve their quality of life and even save their lives.Abbott's website page on Heart Failure: https://www.structuralheart.abbott/patients/heart-failure-treatmentPlease visit our Social Media and Podcast pages:Apple PodcastsFacebookIns

Send us a textThis is the final Heart Dad Sunday episode for Heart Month, February 2022 and it features a surprise -- instead of Frank Jaworski being the Guest Host, he is the Guest and his Heart Warrior son Alexander is the Guest Host. Frank Jaworski is married to Anna Jaworski. Together they had two sons – Joey and Alex Jaworski. Frank Jaworski is a certified registered nurse anesthetist or CRNA. He has worked a number of jobs over the years and we’ll talk more about that in a little bit. He also serves as the President of Hearts Unite the Globe: A Nonprofit Organization for the Congenital Heart Defect Community – a nonprofit organization founded by Frank and Anna Jaworski, Bob Daigneault, Bill Tse, Sue Dove, and Brenda Vignaroli. Frank also did all of the illustrations for Anna’s first book, “Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: A Handbook for Parents,” and for the Glossary of “The Heart of a Mother.” He wrote an essay and the connecting material for the book, “The Heart of a Father.”Frank Jaworski loves trave

Send us a textWho was the first person to close holes in the heart between the upper chambers of the heart in the cath lab? What exactly is interventional cardiology and why is it important? What future devices do our Heart Warriors have to look forward to? Today’s episode is entitled “The Making of a Louisiana Legend” and our guest is Dr. Terry King.Dr. Terry King completed his training in Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology at the University of Texas and Duke University. He started practicing in 1965, caring for children in the state of Louisiana.In 1975, Dr. King and Dr. Noel Mills invented the “cardiac umbrella” to close holes in the heart without surgery and were the first to implant the device in humans. This technology forever changed how structural defects in the heart are repaired, both in children and adults. They were nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1976.Dr. King considers the greatest responsibility you can give another person is the care of your child and he has dedicated his life

Send us a textWelcome to Fun Fact Friday -- a special weekly podcast during Heart Month (February 2022). Each Friday we have been sharing fun facts for the congenital heart defect community. Our Guest is Frank Jaworski, CRNA -- he is a father to a 27-year-old single ventricle Heart Warrior and he's also Host Anna Jaworski's husband.In this final episode of our mini-series, Frank will answer the question, "Why do some people with bicuspid aortic valves need surgery and some don't?Special thanks to Scott Holmes Music for the song we're using during our Fun Fact Friday episode -- "Summer Fun" which you can find here: https://scottholmesmusic.com/Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay  -- thanks!Please visit our Social Media and Podcast pages:Apple PodcastsFacebookInstagramMeWeTwitterYouTubeWebsiteAnna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link (we both benefit if you sign up with Buzzsprout with my link - yay!) Thanks to our newest HUG Patron, Ayrton Beatty and long-standing Patrons: Laura

Send us a textEach Thursday we will have author Amy M. Le joining us to chat about recipes from her cookbook Snow’s Kitchen. For those of you who don’t know, Amy is the author of a trilogy of books revolving around her Vietnamese mother’s journey to the United States after the fall of Saigon. The last book in the trilogy, Snow’s Kitchen is a novella and a cookbook! All of our recipes are from this cookbook.In this final episode of our Tasty Thursday mini-series during Heart Month, February 2022, Anna Jaworski and her husband Frank talk with the author of Snow's Kitchen about making Lemon Cheesecake.To make this recipe keto:Instead of using honey graham crackers, white flour, 3 cups of sugar, and store-bought lemon curd (resulting in 72 grams of carbs per serving), we substituted Cinnamon-flavored Magic Pop for the honey graham crackers, erythitol and aspartame for the sugar, almond flour for the white flour, and we still used the Dickinson’s lemon curd in the lemon curd frosting along with our home-made

Send us a textAccording to an article in Neuropsychobiology entitled “Exercise and Mental Health: Many Reasons to Move”Neurodegenerative diseases become more prevalent as individuals age and, therefore, represent a serious issue for the healthcare system. Since inactivity is the number one risk factor for many diseases, physical activity has become an emerging topic of interest for many investigators. Exercise might act as an efficient and low-cost adjunctive factor in the treatment and prevention of age-related neurodegenerative processes [1, 2] . Clinical evidence has demonstrated that exercise has a positive relationship with the outcome of different mental diseases, such as depression, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, improving not only patients’ quality of life but the disease itself [7–9] . Indeed, exercise is related to enhanced cognitive functioning and brain plasticity [10, 11] I think we can all agree that we feel better after a good workout but lately, I’ve been too busy to work out. I’

Send us a textWhat is plastic bronchitis? What is immune deficiency and how might it be related to plastic bronchitis? More importantly, what can be done about it? Today’s Guest will answer those questions and more!Anna:  Heidi Ingvaldsen is 38 years old and lives in the north of Norway with her partner Karl Stian. The couple has three children from previous relationships, Karl's sons, Nicklas, aged 17, and Tobias, aged 14, and Heidi's daughter, Maya, aged 17. Heidi and Karl welcomed their son, Karl Emil, 5 years ago. Karl Emil was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome or HLHS and also has plastic bronchitis and an immune deficiency. He has had three heart surgeries and lives with Fontan circulation. Heidi is committed to advocating for her son's health to get him the best care possible. Living in Norway makes advocacy more of a challenge. In this episode, Heidi shares with Anna how she is learning about pediatric cardiology and what she hopes for her son's future.Other "Heart to

Send us a textEach Monday in February we're broadcasting a special episode of "Heart to Heart with Anna" featuring different medical devices or products. Today's episode is the third of four Medical Monday programs and features a gentleman commonly referred to as "The Father of Interventional Cardiology."Today we’ll be talking about a congenital heart defect known as an atrial septal defect or ASD -- more commonly referred to as a 'hole in the heart' and one doctor's mission to find a way to use a device in a  cardiac catheterization to close the hole. Although ASDs were being closed via open-heart surgery in 1970s, Dr. King joined forces with Dr. Noel Millls, a cardiothoracic surgeon, and together they developed the King-Mills umbrella device. Dr. King shares how he came upon the inspiration needed to invent this life-saving device.Thanks to Tammy Oropesa for the music for this episode. Visit Tammy's website: https://www.okay-tee.com/Please visit our Social M

Send us a textThis is the 3rd of 4 episodes of Heart Dad Sunday -- a mini-series developed for Heart Month, February 2022. Heart Dad Frank Jaworski returns in this episode as the Guest Host. He interviews long-time friend, Michael Liben, about what it was like to raise a daughter with a critical congenital heart defect in Israel. Not only did Michael's daughter have double-outlet right ventricle, but she also had autism and she later developed epilepsy as well. Michael is the father of three children: 27-year old Idan, 25-year-old Sapir, and forever 15-year old Liel. Michael and Leora have been married for 34 years and Michael made aliyah to Jerusalem after college.Michael was a former filmmaker, high school teacher, adjunct professor of television and radio production, and he now works in security. For almost 6 years Michael has been working with Frank's wife, Anna, as the Host of a bereavement podcast now entitled, “Bereaved But Still Me.”Links to Michael's other appearances on "Heart to

Send us a textHow can a heart camp, like Camp Del Corazon, enhance a Heart Warrior's life? What made one Heart Warrior decide to become a nurse and eventually to go back to Camp Del Corazon as a Camp Nurse? What is the next step for a Heart Warrior after she is too old for camp?Carrlee McGuire-Lim is a Heart Warrior who was born with Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, Coarctation, and TGA. She has had several cardiac surgeries over her lifetime and a Pacemaker placed at age 5. Carlee also has severe scoliosis requiring surgical rod placement at age 13. Carrlee knew from a young age that she wanted to be a nurse, but always had concerns if her heart would be strong enough to work the long hours in a high stress environment. Beating the odds, Carrlee successfully graduated from nursing school in 2017 and works as a NICU nurse caring for tiny newborns, some with congenital heart disease too! Carrlee pursued more and graduated with her MSN and starting teaching nursing students in 2021.She married the love of

Send us a textWelcome to Fun Fact Friday -- a special weekly podcast during Heart Month (February 2022). Each Friday we have been sharing fun facts for the congenital heart defect community. Our Guest is Frank Jaworski, CRNA -- he is a father to a 27-year-old single ventricle Heart Warrior and he's also Host Anna Jaworski's husband.In this episode, Frank will answer the question, "What is prostaglandin E1 and why is it important?"Special thanks to Scott Holmes Music for the song we're using during our Fun Fact Friday episode -- "Summer Fun" which you can find here: https://scottholmesmusic.com/Thanks to Pixabay for the image used with the podcast. Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay Please visit our Social Media and Podcast pages:Apple PodcastsFacebookInstagramMeWeTwitterYouTubeWebsiteAnna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link (we both benefit if you sign up with Buzzsprout with my link - yay!) Thanks to our newest HUG Patron, Ayrton Beatty and long-standing Patrons: Laura Red

Send us a textEach Thursday we will have author Amy M. Le joining us to chat about recipes from her cookbook Snow’s Kitchen. For those of you who don’t know, Amy is the author of a trilogy of books revolving around her Vietnamese mother’s journey to the United States after the fall of Saigon. The last book in the trilogy, Snow’s Kitchen is a novella and a cookbook! All of our recipes are from this cookbook.In this episode, Anna Jaworski and her husband Frank talk with the author of Snow's Kitchen about the recipe on page 175-177 of Snow’s Kitchen -- Boeuf Bourgignon.To make this recipe keto:Instead of using white flour, we used almond flour, and cauliflower rice instead of noodles, rice, mashed potatoes, baguettes, or polenta. The carb count for the original boeuf bourgignon would be about 40 grams of carbs per serving but with the modifications we made, the carb count was 17 grams of carbs.Don't miss our Tasty Thursday episode where we made Spring Rolls!or the Tasty Thursday episode where we made Y

Send us a textI believe the power of friendship to enhance our feeling of well-being cannot be overrated. Friends do so much to make us feel better about ourselves, to multiply our happiness, and to divide our sorrow. It's with the help of friends that many of us develop the resiliency to tackle those difficulties we face in life. Today's Mental Health Wednesday activity is a simple one -- simply share a small aspect of your day with someone. It might be sharing a photo, a song, or just a fun story. Perhaps you'll be sharing with someone something that brought you great happiness (like me sharing Buck and Chloe with all of you) or perhaps you'll share something that brought you sorrow but in doing so, you'll help bolster someone else who's going through a hard time.Don't forget to share a small aspect of your day with Anna on any of the social media platforms listed below or by visiting her website and filling out the contact form there. Thanks to Tammy Oropesa for the music

Send us a textWhat is Ebstein’s Anomaly?  How did living with congenital heart defects influence Tori Geiger’s career choice? What does having Ebstein’s Anomaly mean for a newly married couple wanting a family?Today’s show is Resiliency: Overcoming Challenges with Ebstein’s Anomaly and our Guest is Tori Geiger. We’ll start today’s program by learning a bit about Tori in Segment 1. In the second segment, we’re going to talk about becoming an advocate and an author and in the final segment, we will discover what Tori and her husband have planned for the future. Heart Warrior Tori Geiger was diagnosed with Ebstein's Anomaly and Coarctation of the aorta. She had open-heart surgery at 4 days, 2 months, and 7 months of age. She had an ablation for Supra-ventricular Tachycardia in 7th Grade and in her freshman year of high school. These experiences have taught Tori a lot about resilience and overcoming obstacles. During school and college, Tori was a competitive athlete and still takes part in athletics today.

Send us a textEach Monday in February we're broadcasting a special episode of "Heart to Heart with Anna" featuring different medical devices or products. Today's episode is conducted by Hearts Unite the Globe Medical Advisory Board Member, Roslyn Rivera, RN.Today we’ll be talking about 3-D printed hearts and our Guest is Dr. Gregory Perens. Dr. Perens has been a pediatric cardiologist at UCLA since 2006. His clinical interests include Marfan Syndrome, echocardiography, and focus on 3-D printing and virtual reality assessment of congenital heart disease to plan surgery and cardiac catheterization. Thanks to Tammy Oropesa for the music for this episode. Visit Tammy's website: https://www.okay-tee.com/Please visit our Social Media and Podcast pages:Apple PodcastsFacebookInstagramMeWeTwitterYouTubeWebsiteAnna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link (we both benefit if you sign up with Buzzsprout with my link - yay!) Thanks to our newest HUG Patron, Ayrton Beatty and long-standing Patrons: Laura

Send us a textThis is the second of four special 'Heart Dad Sunday' episodes guest hosted by Frank Jaworski. Frank is Anna Jaworski's husband and together they have two children. Their youngest child was born with a single ventricle heart. Frank is also an advanced practice nurse. He is a nurse anesthetist in Temple, Texas.In this episode, Frank revisits living with HLHS with an old friend. Rob Springham is a recently retired UPS driver. He and his wife, Linda, are parents to two sons. Michael will soon be a 25-year-old hypoplastic left heart syndrome (or HLHS) Heart Warrior. Because of his congenital heart defect (or CHD), Michael has cognitive disabilities along with other health issues. As a child, Michael needed a feeding tube for 2 years, eye surgery, and foot surgery. For Michael, the biggest challenge he has on a daily basis is the cognitive challenge he battles.Please visit our Social Media and Podcast pages:Apple PodcastsFacebookInstagramMeWeTwitterYouTubeWebsiteAnna's Buzzsprout

Send us a textWhat is Double Outlet Right Ventricle?  What is TAPVR? How did living with congenital heart defects influence Michael McKelvey’s life growing up? What has Michael achieved in adulthood?Michael McKelvey is 30 years old and lives with a complex congenital heart defect (CHD) called double outlet right ventricle, or DORV. He works as an internet service provider technician in Pittsburgh. Growing up, life wasn't easy for Michael. He underwent four open-heart surgeries between the ages of 9 days and 16 years and was a small, skinny, sickly kid who was always told what he couldn't do. As he grew older and began to understand his CHD, he struggled to accept his condition. Over time, this changed and he began to embrace what he could do. Today, Michael is married and lives a very active lifestyle even though he will face more surgeries in the future. He is talking to us today in the hopes that his outlook can help others. Links to helpful sites and to materials mentioned in the show:TAPVR: http

Send us a textWelcome to Fun Fact Friday -- a special weekly podcast during Heart Month (February 2022). Each Friday we'll be sharing fun facts for the congenital heart defect community. Our Guest is Frank Jaworski, CRNA and father to a 27-year-old single ventricle Heart Warrior. He's also Host Anna Jaworski's husband.In this episode, Frank will answer the question: what arrhythmias are life-threatening?Thanks to Tammy Oropesa for the music for this episode. Visit Tammy's website: https://www.okay-tee.com/Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay. Thank you!Please visit our Social Media and Podcast pages:Apple PodcastsFacebookInstagramMeWeTwitterYouTubeWebsiteAnna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link (we both benefit if you sign up with Buzzsprout with my link - yay!) Thanks 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 appre