My name is Breanna.
I am 33 years old.
I am Imperfectly Perfect

My story is a little different than most. I was originally diagnosed in 2009 at the age of 20 with a heart murmur when I was pregnant with my daughter. After wearing a holster monitor for 2 weeks, it was deemed not serious. Fast forward to 2016, I began getting really bad headaches. After trying to fix them on my own with no resolution, I decided to see my physician. There I had a routine exam and was then referred to a Cardiologist.

At the cardiologist, we discovered that I had Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, and that I needed to see a specialist. This is when I went to University hospital which is where I’ve spent a lot of time over the past 5 years.

•  In July of 2017, I had an open-heart surgery called septal myectomy.
• In 2018, I underwent my second surgery to have a pacemaker/defibrillator put in.
• In 2019 I had an ablation done with no success.
• In 2020, I had an alcohol ablation done which gave me complete heart block resulting in a second lead being put in my heart.
Though it is common to have heart block after an ablation, I knew it was that or this disease will take over my life completely.

Now in 2022, I feel scared, blessed, in fear of the unknown. My daughter is 12 years old and I have been balancing CHD with being a mom her entire life. It is a hard balance, but what I would like to tell other moms out there in this situation is that, its okay to be afraid, its okay to cry, but know that little girl or boy looks up to you and its important to be the best version of yourself that you can be. 

Always live by the motto that not every day is promised.

 We are all here on borrowed time

 and we need to make sure we spend our time here with the ones who love us and the ones we love. 

My story is different because most people with CHD find out when they are a child, not at 20 years old. The transition to accept this diagnosis was extremely rough, but I believe everything happens for a reason.

Of course, there are times I sit and wonder why me? Why do I have to go through this? However now, at this point in my life, my purpose is clear. To raise awareness for heart disease. Heart Disease is the worlds #1 killer, far too often going un-noticed. My goal is to use my journey and help spread awareness of all congenital heart disease. To make the un-noticed, noticed. To shine light in the darkness and help as many people as I possibly can.

I am strong, stronger than I give myself credit for. Stronger than I ever thought I’d have to be. Stronger because I know what I’m up against, and I’m facing it head on with my fists up!