Once it was found that the readings were true, a doctor came into the room and explained within seconds that he was going to inject medication that would stop my heart and, when it started back up, it should be in a correct rhythm.

That was the day my fight with heart disease started.

I always knew growing up that something was different with me, not being able to keep up in gym class. It was suggested several times that I had asthma. I have suffered from many heart arrhythmias since then. I had my first heart surgery in Portland, Maine in 2003. Since then, I have had seven more at Central Maine Medical Center and two in Boston.

Living with heart disease has affected my life in many ways. I am not able to have children due to my health problems, I have been out of work for some time now, and I am not able to do a lot of the things that I enjoyed doing when I was younger. Although my health does not improve but only gets worse, I still have not given up hope.

New medications and technology come out every year thanks to all the money raised by the American Heart Association. Because of them I can continue to strive into the future knowing that something new or experimental may be my next hope.

Please donate today or help by simply spreading the word to keep awareness going. You may just save a life. I may not be a success story, but I am a survivor.