Heart failure and transplant survivor, Megan Hilt, shares her story of survival and recovery
Heart failure and transplant survivor, Megan Hilt, shares her story of survival and recovery
Megan Hilt, 28, experienced heart failure at 18. On her 19th birthday she had a heart transplant. Not long after her transplant, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that affects transplant recipients. She recovered full through her family support and her faith. Nearly a decade later, life is as ‘normal’ as life can be.
Content
0.648 -> (dramatic music)
4.58 -> - My story begins right
after I turned 18 years old.
8.47 -> They diagnosed me with something
9.81 -> called dilated cardiomyopathy.
12.04 -> At age 18, that was something
that was a complete surprise.
16.47 -> Basically told me that I
wasn't getting any better
19.31 -> and that it was probably time to go ahead
20.95 -> and list me for a transplant.
24.24 -> After I had my heart
transplant and I was diagnosed
26.66 -> with a form of lymphoma that can occur
29.17 -> in transplant patients,
the heart transplant
31.6 -> was a speed bump along the way.
33.93 -> And cancer was another
speed bump along the way.
37.23 -> But I always tell people
that I don't regret
40.92 -> having gone through anything
that I've been through.
46.92 -> Being a mom to me means everything.
50.25 -> I have always wanted to be a mom
52.44 -> since I was a little child.
55.01 -> I have always been the
neighborhood babysitter
57.71 -> and I've just loved kids from a small age.
60.87 -> I want to be a mom because
I've had such an incredible
63.91 -> role model in my own mother.
65.81 -> She is one of the most selfless
people that I've ever met.
69.84 -> And to me, she is just such
a important part of my life.
74.78 -> And knowing the impact
that she's had on my life,
77.71 -> I wanna make sure that I
have that kind of impact
80.17 -> on our own children.
81.75 -> In the process of my husband and I
83.78 -> trying to start our family, we reached out
85.97 -> to my heart doctors to get their advice
88.44 -> on what they felt was right for us.
91.5 -> My heart doctors highly
advised that it would be best
95.15 -> if we did not attempt
for me to carry a child,
98.9 -> just given the nature of
everything that I've been through
101.26 -> and the stress that carrying
a child could put on my heart.
104.57 -> So in light of that, my husband
and I have opted to hire
107.15 -> a gestational carrier to be
a surrogate for our child.
111.07 -> I think about the selfless
donor that I've had
113.93 -> who has given me such an incredible heart.
116.37 -> And I know that at the end
of the day, I wanna take care
119.47 -> of that heart and have it
for as long as possible.
122.69 -> This may sound weird but
I'm grateful for the fact
125.38 -> that I've had a heart transplant
127.03 -> and I've been through
cancer because I feel like
129.54 -> it's truly shaped me into
the person that I am today.
132.67 -> I have to look at it from a
big picture aspect of the fact
136.07 -> that I'm still here and I
have a wonderful husband
138.95 -> and I have an amazing family
and an incredible group
141.81 -> of friends that have led
me through all of this.
145.22 -> My message to women is that heart disease
148.14 -> can happen to anyone at any age.
151.77 -> It happened to me when I was 18.
154.52 -> We need to take care of ourselves
so that we can take care
157.79 -> of other people but our
health is just as important.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU4tjAXsfD8