A Doctor Turned Heart Patient Gives Back

By Alin Gragossian

There is so much in life that we cannot control. Unfortunate things happen to us. But I have always believed that we have to embrace these experiences and adversities in order to fully grow and give meaning to our lives.

I am currently a doctor-in-training, specializing in Emergency Medicine. At work, I help any patient that comes through the emergency department. Some people come in with terrible asthma attacks and require breathing tubes to help their exacerbations. Others are brought in, fighting for their lives, with a gunshot wound to their abdomen. They require many life-saving measures, and we are trained to regularly perform these on our critically ill patients. If our patients die in the emergency department, we sometimes have to call organ procurement agencies to coordinate any sort of organ donation that can be done, so that their organs can go on to save others� lives.

In December 2018, I became a critically ill patient myself. After feeling short of breath for a few days, I walked into my own emergency department and was admitted to the hospital for further testing. During my complicated hospitalization, I required a breathing tube and several other life-saving measures. I was diagnosed with genetic dilated cardiomyopathy that was causing acute decompensated heart failure and cardiogenic shock. In other words, my heart was failing on me by the minute. As a �doctor-patient,� I knew what this meant�I needed a heart transplant, and I needed it fast.

Fortunately, in the middle of January (just 3 weeks after my diagnosis), I received my new heart. The transplant surgery took about eight hours, but was uncomplicated. As soon as I woke up, I felt rejuvenated. Within days, I decided that I had new life goals to add to my old ones. I couldn�t necessarily control what had already happened to me (remember, I was a healthy, active, young woman otherwise), but I could control how I felt about the situation, and what I would do from here out that could help others in similar situations.

Because of this experience, I created a blog (https://www.achangeofhe.art) to not only talk about my story and give tips on staying healthy, but to ultimately raise awareness on both organ donation and heart disease. As a doctor, I know about heart disease and how deadly it can be. As a doctor, I know about how important organ donation is. As a patient, though, these subject matters have only been emphasized even more in my life. I also want to honor my donor for giving me a second chance at life�there is much to be grateful for.

I want to take my �unfortunate event� and grow from it. I want others to be inspired, and I want to help anybody I can with my messages. This is why I got in touch with Mended Hearts– to see if there are ways to help the organization, whether it�s for raising awareness on heart disease, organizing fundraisers, or volunteering at events. I�m excited for the rest of my journey with my new heart.