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Age: 24
Sex: Female
Race: Caucasian
Occupation: Banker
History
- Born a week early with heart murmur, diagnosed with a heart defect.
- A “blue baby”, lips and fingernails had a blue tint to them. Lack of oxygen in the blood due to heart defect.
Turning Point
The doctors wanted to wait to do the surgery until Katrina grew a little bigger; they would do the surgery when her heart actually started to fail. Just after her second birthday Katrina had open heart surgery.
Growing up she didn’t feel different than any other kid. Katina did most of the same things but every six months to a year she had a major physical. At the age of nine she could no longer participate in sports or take dance lessons. That was the first time that she felt different.
Today
Katrina is limited in some of the activities that she can do. She has learned to compensate. In high school she talked the doctor into letting her play softball competitively again. She played varsity softball (third base) all four years of high school. She learned to hit the ball really hard to make up for not being able to run fast without tiring out.
She has taught aerobics, become a personal trainer, and worked since age fourteen years old. Today she is able to be an active as well as a productive member of society. Katrina says that without surgery, she probably would not have lived to see her tenth birthday.
Each year around December she gets a little anxious, it is time for her annual check-up. Her artery is slowly narrowing and there is a good chance that she will have to have open-heart surgery again and have a heart valve replaced. |
