Thank you from the bottom of my three-chambered heart

Austin hugging his father at the finish line of the 2017 Boston Marathon. Photo credit: Joseph Kelly When people ask me what it was like to run the Boston Marathon, I don’t just think about the race itself. I think about about my entire life journey and all the people who helped get me to Boylston Street. Yes, the actual marathon day is one day in time that people can point to on a calendar, but it’s the long journey with all its ups and downs and the people you meet along the way, that makes it all worth it. My journey has come full circle, as I went from my mom and I waiting for my dad at the finish line nineteen years ago, to them waiting for me as I finished a marathon of my own. Today, I want to say thank you to a few of the many people who made this journey possible. To the true miracle workers who make up the medical and research staffs at Boston Children’s Hospital, including everyone from Dr. Mayer who conducted my first open-heart surgery, to Dr. Marshall who has handled my most recent tune-ups through catheterization. Without your team’s tireless efforts, my story would undoubtedly be much shorter, and would likely not have such a fantastic conclusion. With your help, a once relatively bleak outlook for me has been transformed into my greatest accomplishment. I also want to give a shout out to Dr. Beraha, my cardiologist in Rhode Island, who has been monitoring me since birth and coordinating any surgical needs with the folks in Boston. He had enough bel...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories congenital heart defect Dr. Audrey Marshall Dr. John Mayer Heart Center Source Type: news