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FEBRUARY IS AMERICAN HEART MONTH
There is a light
that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond the highest, the
very highest heavens.
This is the light that shines in your heart.
-Chandogya Upanishad
When it comes to matters of the heart, Tri Delta
Jennifer Shih, Louisiana
State, might know more than any of us. After
completing medical school and a 3-year residency at Emory
University, Jennifer was following her dream to help infants and
children with heart problems, studying pediatric cardiology at
one of the top cardiology programs in the nation. In August
2004, finding herself persistently exhausted, Jennifer performed
an echocardiogram on herself. With fluid building around her
heart and blood pressure rapidly dropping, Jennifer took herself
to the emergency room. A short while later, she was diagnosed
with a rare disease called Giant Cell Myocarditis. Her condition
rapidly deteriorated, and by September 1st, she was airlifted to
the Cleveland Clinic, where doctors determined her heart was too
damaged to pump on its own and said she would need a heart
transplant to survive. On September 12th, a donor heart was
found, and after waiting five hours to determine if the heart
was a match and enduring a six-hour surgery,
Jennifer received her heart transplant.
Thus far, Jennifer is doing well with the support of
her family, friends, Tri Delta sisters, and her own reserves of
incredible strength and dignity as she learns to live with a new
heart. If you'd like to follow Jennifer along her path to
recovery, or offer your support through this trying time, please
visit her website at
www.haveaheartbenefit.com. |
