Heart to Heart with Anna

What kind of medical trauma might a Heart Warrior experience? What are some of the things a person can do to reduce the anxiety associated with medical trauma? What is one Heart Warrior's approach to living a meaningful life? Today’s show is Liz Zangara: Living a Life of Healing and our Guest is Liz Zangara. We’ll start today’s program by learning a bit about Liz and her medical conditions in Segm...

Who was a co-founder of the Adult Congenital Heart Association? Why did the founders believe it was necessary to create an organization specifically for adults with heart defects? How were the co-founders' parents involved in setting up the ACHA as a 501(c)3? This is the first of four special episodes to be released on Sundays in Heart Month 2022. This series, Heart Dad Sunday, is hosted by Frank...

What happens when a Fontan patient needs a tune-up? What kinds of procedures might a Fontan patient need after living with a Fontan heart? What can we learn from someone who has experienced a Fontan revision? Welcome to the first of four Saturday Success Story programs! Saturday Success Stories will be released each Saturday in Heart Month (February 2022) and this one features Jimmy Bachenheimer....

Welcome to Fun Fact Friday -- a special weekly podcast during Heart Month (February 2022). Each Friday we'll be sharing fun facts for the congenital heart defect community. Our Guest is Frank Jaworski, CRNA and father to a 27-year-old single ventricle Heart Warrior. He's also Host Anna Jaworski's husband. In this episode, Frank will answer the question: Who is the 'Father of Interventional Cardiol...

It's Tasty Thursday! Won't you join cookbook author, Amy M. Le, and Frank and Anna Jaworski as they dish about an appetizer found in Amy M. Le's cookbook, 'Snow's Kitchen'? This week, and for every Thursday in Heart Month (February), these three friends will talk about one recipe after another found in the cookbook and modified by Frank and Anna in an attempt to make the recipe more keto-friendly....

Each Wednesday in Heart Month (February) 2022 I will invite you to do something to contribute to your mental health. Please share your tasks with me on my Facebook page (just look for "Heart to Heart with Anna!") or on my website ( https://www.hug-podcastnetwork.com/contact-us.html) . This is our first Mental Health Wednesday and it's all about gratitude. Research has shown that people who are gra...

Why would someone born with a heart defect in Venezuela who has moved to the USA care about children born with heart defects in her country today? How can one woman make a difference in the lives of children living in a dictatorship? What is the most important thing Belen Blanton has learned since she started her international nonprofit organization? Belen Blanton was born with tricuspid atresia i...

What is being done in 2022 to help children born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)? Is it possible to consider there may be a day when heart defects can actually be cured? What event is occurring on February 3, 2022 to raise funds to stamp out congenital heart defects?

 Dr. Timothy Nelson is the director of the Todd and Karen Wanek Family Program for HLHS at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Nelson’s re...

Who is Oyauma Garrison? What is ‘A Kid Again’ and how can that organization help the congenital heart defect community? What services do ‘A Kid Again’ provide? Oyauma Garrison is the President and CEO of A Kid Again, Inc, a nonprofit organization that provides ongoing, cost-free adventures for children facing life-threatening conditions. A Kid Again provides hope, happiness, and healing through on...

Why would parents of a child with a congenital heart defect start a podcast? Why would they write a book? What does this dynamic duo hope to achieve when it comes to helping the congenital heart defect (CHD) community? Tom and Kat Hansen are parents to 9-year-old daughter Audrey and 7-year-old son Harding. In 2014, Harding was diagnosed with multiple congenital heart defects in utero, for which he...

How can having an atrial septal defect, or ASD, affect a baby’s growth and development? Specifically, could an ASD be responsible for feeding issues? What are the dangers of surgeons operating on a baby too soon if their congenital heart defect (CHD) is an ASD? Amna Saeed Salman is the author of Style Stripped, a prominent fashion and lifestyle blog in Pakistan. She is also Mom to beautiful 4-year...

How can a person’s spirituality help her when it comes to coping with her congenital heart defect? What spiritual practices can help Heart Warriors? Why would a Heart Warrior be willing to talk about her spirituality? Allison Holmes was born in 1972 with seven heart defects, and she is also a cancer survivor. She has been evaluated twice for the heart and lung transplant list but is not on the lis...

Loyal Listeners of "Heart to Heart with Anna" fill the studio in this extra-special episode. They celebrate the 8th anniversary of the podcast by sharing who they are in the congenital heart defect (CHD) community, what episodes are their favorites and why, as well as what they would like to hear on "Heart to Heart with Anna" in 2022. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/po...

Lorrie Hill grew up in Texas, mostly Houston and Dallas. She was born with a single ventricle heart and has had four open-heart surgeries in her 25 years, including a pulmonary artery band and bi-directional Glenn shunt. She was listed for a heart transplant on February 24th, 2020. During this time, she graduated with honors from Texas A & M and moved to Houston to be closer to Texas Children's Ho...

In this episode celebrating 8 years of “Heart to Heart with Anna," we have many of the Hearts Unite the Globe (HUG) Volunteers, the HUG Medical Advisory Board, and our Patrons. Links to participants' past shows (if applicable): Kathy Ware A Heart Warrior’s Early Onset Menopause: https://tinyurl.com/3y8cs2kw From Learning Disabled to College Professor: https://tinyurl.com/2p86m5bw Panel Discussion...

In this first of a 2-part series of episodes celebrating 8 years of “Heart to Heart with Anna. we have many of the Hearts Unite the Globe (HUG) Volunteers, the HUG Medical Advisory Board, and our Patrons celebrating and sharing with us. Our participants and links to their past shows (if applicable): HUG Volunteers Rita Scoggins: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness 2015! https://tinyurl.com/4x7hz9b2...

How does having obstacles to playing sports affect a boy’s feelings of self-worth when growing up? In what ways can a young man feed his desire for sports and athletics, even if his body isn’t able to do what his mind wishes he could do? How can an adult Heart Warrior enjoy a passion for sports when he only has half a heart? Michael Hills was born in February of 1998 in Ontario, Canada. He was dia...

Why are conferences specifically for adults with congenital heart defects important? Who attends ACHD conferences? What can a person expect to learn at a virtual conference? Annie Ulchak was born in Lima, Peru in 1979 with nomenclature HLHS, pulmonary stenosis, double inlet right atrium, and double outlet right ventricle. She was adopted and had the two-stage HLHS process: BT shunt at age 3 and cl...

What is it like to be the mom of not one but two children with CHD? How can you manage epilepsy in a child with CHD? Melanie Letzer is a geriatric nurse practitioner. She lives in Maryland with her husband Jack and their three children. Her older son, Freddy, now 16, was born with Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia with Multiple Aortopulmonary Collateral Arteries (MAPCAS). Her younger son,...

What was it like raising a daughter with a congenital heart defect in Australia in the 1980s? What challenges did parents of a daughter requiring open-heart surgery face? What does an adult Heart Warrior appreciate about her parents now that she's all grown up? Donna and Ian were born in Brisbane, Australia in the 1950s. They met in the early 1980s and married in 1982. Megan was born in February 1...

What lessons can we learn from our Heart Warriors? Why might a Heart Mom write a book about her life experiences dealing with CHD? How does a Heart Mom use her personal experiences to fight for others in the hospital? Australian Libby Andrew is a busy mom to four sons: John, 14, Matthew, 12, Stuart, 10, and Daniel, 7. Her youngest son Daniel was born with half a heart. Diagnosed in utero at 20 wee...

What was it like to grow up with tetralogy of Fallot in the 1980s? How can having a heart defect influence your career choice as an adult? What psychological challenges do Heart Warriors face? Joy Ogawa was born  in Hawaii with tetralogy of Fallot in 1979  and had an open-heart surgery at 22 months of age. She considers herself lucky to have only experienced one surgery in her lifetime.   Despite...

Paul Cardall was born in 1973 with only half a heart. He had his first open-heart surgery a few hours after birth and two more surgeries at age 13 and 14. As a child, he took piano lessons but wasn’t keen on practice. As a teenager, he started composing and became obsessed. He was hired to play at weddings, in restaurants, and in department stores. In 1994, author Richard Paul Evans invited him to...

Why might a Heart Mom choose to volunteer with an advocacy organization? What can an advocacy organization do to help others learn about congenital heart defects? What are the future plans for Conquering CHD and how can people get involved? Liz Schurrer is mom to eight-year-old Eli, who was prenatally diagnosed with truncus arteriosus. Her family’s life changed forever as they were thrown into the...

Why would an artist choose a career working in the operating room of a pediatric hospital? What joy is to be had of drawing broken hearts and the operations surgeons use to save these critically ill babies’ lives? In what other ways does artist Susan Russell Hall find joy in art? Susan Russell Hall is a Northwest artist and medical illustrator who comes from a long line of artisans. Her first solo...