Heart to Heart with Anna

Send us Fan Mail One of the problems many of our CHD children suffer from is "Failure to Thrive" and because the children with critical congenital heart defects usually have surgery within the first days or months of their lives, they may develop oral aversion (very probably because of being intubated for extended periods of time). Because many of our children have oral aversion, they fr...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode of Heart to Heart with Anna features Guest Host, Chris Perez (a.k.a. the HLHS Dad) and shows how a heart mom - inspired by her daughter's determination - has begun a successful small business. The guest for this exciting episode is Jessie Wimmer, who is a heart mom from Charlotte, NC. She has two beautiful children: Noah and Sparrow, who was born with a c...

Send us Fan Mail The Fontan Procedure was first described in 1971 as a treatment for tricuspid atresia. In the last 45 years, the Fontan Procedure has grown and changed and is currently used to save the lives of people born with a number of single ventricle diagnoses -- including tricuspid atresia, hypoplastic left (and right) heart syndrome, common-inlet left ventricle or double-inlet left ventri...

Send us Fan Mail Is the stress of caring for a child with a serious medical condition wearing you down? Do you find yourself being snappy with others? Is negativity showing through? Tune in to hear Guest Host, Chris Perez (a.k.a. HLHS Dad) interview Daniel Miles, the Assistant Director of Spiritual Education at Carolinas Medical Center, as he shares his wisdom and advice with us. Support the show...

Send us Fan Mail When teens become young adults, so many changes occur. For teens with congenital heart defects (CHDs), the changes that occur are often magnified. With the changes that happen in the body as children become adults, there are other changes that happen, too. Oftentimes, CHD Survivors had surgery over a decade earlier and some of those early surgeries may need attention. Suddenly, th...

Send us Fan Mail What is the natural course of congenital heart disease? What obstacles do adult congenital heart defects Survivors (ACHDers) faces as they age? What transition challenges do ACHDers have to deal with? As Nurse Program Coordinator of the Akron Children's Hospital Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program, Deena Barber has the privilege of managing and coordinating the specialized...

Send us Fan Mail Misty Castaneda was born with a heart defect known as tetralogy of Fallot. Told she'd never be able to have children, she was surprised at 19 to discover she was pregnant. Now, 19 years later, Misty has a 19-year-old daughter of her own. Misty has undergone multiple challenges in raising her daughter. Her daughter has had to witness her mother undergo surgery to replace a hea...

Send us Fan Mail How does a teen with congenital heart defect transition to being an adult with a congenital heart defect? What can go wrong? What kinds of things can parents do to help the transition go more smoothly? What makes transitioning so difficult? Two adults born with congenital heart defects, Sarah Clark and Nicole Vickery, share their life experiences with Anna and offer advice to list...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Ari Cedars is a cardiologist at Baylor University medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He is a physician and the director of the Center for Adults with Congenital Heart Disease (or ACHD). He trained in Adult Congenital Heart Disease at Washington University in Saint Louis. He is passionate about research in the realm of adults with congenital heart disease, especially since it is...

Send us Fan Mail Do you wonder what a financial planner does and if you can even afford one? Can you afford NOT to have one? What kind of emotional issues are common with chronic illness? How can anyone afford to have congenital heart disease and anything else happen to them? Tune in for answers to these questions and many more thanks to Certified Financial Planner, Laura Redfern and child and adu...

Send us Fan Mail Due to the complexity of the surgeries needed to help people with complex congenital heart defects, it is not uncommon for some survivors to suffer some neurological insults resulting in cognitive delays or even permanent neurological damage. How do parents of children with heart defects and neurological problems cope? What can parents do as their children become adults but are no...

Send us Fan Mail What is it like to grow up with critical congenital heart defects requiring surgery in the first year of life? How does having multiple surgeries through a person's life affect their career choices? How are two amazing adult survivors giving back? Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link Baby Blue Sound Collective Social Media Pages: Apple Podcasts Facebook Inst...

Send us Fan Mail David Franco was born with congenitally-corrected transposition of the great arteries and a ventricular septal defect (or VSD). David is 49 years old and has had several cardiac and several other, non-cardiac surgeries. In this episode of "Heart to Heart with Anna" David will share with us what he has learned from having non-cardiac surgeries. He will inform us what he k...

Send us Fan Mail What's new with anticoagulants? What should adults with congenital heart defects know about anticoagulants? What should adults with CHDs know about Coumadin? Pharmacist Rebekah Brunell shares her knowledge about anticoagulants with us and what new drugs are available which might change the lives of those in the congenital heart defect community. Support the show Anna's B...

Send us Fan Mail How can a coarctation of the aorta affect a person's life? What happens to a person when their congenital heart defect, once dormant, suddenly becomes an issue? How does an adult deal with the intrusion of a birth defect after living a normal life? Tune in for the answers to these questions and more! Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link Baby Blue Sound Colle...

Send us Fan Mail How did a transposition of the great arteries Survivor take charge of her health and change the course of her heart disease? What are some powerful ways you can take back your health, despite what your doctor might say? What advice does this Survivor have for others? Tune in to hear Keri Kasaboski's triumphant story! Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link Baby...

Send us Fan Mail We are providing this special encore presentation in honor of Frank Celeskey -- one of the Guests in today's show. He was a sweet heart dad who adored his daughter. Sadly, Frank passed away on May 14, 2016. Lauren has set up a GoFundMe to help take care of his burial expenses and to provide for her younger brother. If any of you would like to contribute to it, here is the lin...

Send us Fan Mail How do adult survivors of congenital heart defects feel about becoming a mother? What options are available to Survivors who wish to become mothers? What challenges do these Survivors face when it comes to pregnancy and motherhood? Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link Baby Blue Sound Collective Social Media Pages: Apple Podcasts Facebook Instagram MeWe Twitter Yo...

Send us Fan Mail What inspired Lori M. Jones to become an author? What nonprofit organization does Lori work with? How is she using her voice to help those in the CHD community? Tune in to hear Lori share stories and information with us. Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link Baby Blue Sound Collective Social Media Pages: Apple Podcasts Facebook Instagram MeWe Twitter YouTube Websi...

Send us Fan Mail This show has been specially chosen in honor of Mother's Day. Tune in to hear this mother's story about the miracles she has witnessed from watching her infant son undergo surgery for transposition of the great arteries, face feeding issues and question the wisdom of having another child. Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link Baby Blue Sound Collective S...

Send us Fan Mail Gabriel Santana was born in São Paulo Brazil in 1988 with hypoplastic right, single ventricle, ventricular septal defect and a heart murmur. At first the doctors thought Gabriel only had a heart murmur and sent him home. After almost a year Gabriel’s condition worsened as he developed pneumonia and started experiencing fluid in the sac around his heart. What is healthcare like in...

Send us Fan Mail What is healthcare like in Puerto Rico? How did one mother respond when she couldn't find resources for her son in Spanish? What advice does Marta Montero have for other Puerto Rican heart parents? Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link Baby Blue Sound Collective Social Media Pages: Apple Podcasts Facebook Instagram MeWe Twitter YouTube Website

Send us Fan Mail What is healthcare like in Australia? What support group is there for children born with congenital heart defects (CHDs) in Australia? Is there hope for children born with critical congenital heart defects Down Under? Tune in to hear two heart parents' perspectives on raising a child with hypoplastic left heart syndrome in Australia. Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Af...

Send us Fan Mail ¿Qué es cuidado de la salud como en Costa Rica? ¿Qué piensa un cardiólogo pediatra, son algunos de los problemas de que su gente tiene en conseguir la atención médica que necesitan si nace con un defecto cardíaco? Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link Baby Blue Sound Collective Social Media Pages: Apple Podcasts Facebook Instagram MeWe Twitter YouTube Website

Send us Fan Mail What is healthcare like in Costa Rica? What does a pediatric cardiologist think are some of the problems his countrymen have in getting the healthcare they need if they're born with a heart defect? How common are heart defects in Costa Rica? Tune in to learn the answers to these questions and more! Support the show Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link Baby Blue Sound Collect...