Lauren’s Essay

I always joke that in my next life I am going to come back as a meteorologist. I can be wrong almost every day and still have a job. See, their job is all about chance. Think about it…20% chance of rain, 90% chance of snow…are they ever really right? Thankfully my doctors fell into that category the day I was born. My parents were told that I had a one percent chance of survival. One. Per. Cent. Yet here I am, almost 41 years later-a wife, mother of 2, a music educator, and I’ve run dozens of races including 10 Half Marathons. One percent wasn’t very accurate, but just like the weather, sometimes the sun does peak through. My amazing surgeon saved my life that day and I have always felt that I owe it to him, when his chances of fixing my broken heart were so slim, to keep fighting every day. It’s important to share this story as often as possible to give hope to others, to show that they can also defeat the odds. In my close knit heart-friend community, we are constantly helping each other through literal heartbreak. We’ve walked in each other’s shoes and know that even though we look OK, often we are not. We know that at each doctor’s appointment, there’s a chance that we might walk out of there with bad news. But, see, there’s always that chance that everything is fine, for now, and that’s what we, as heart warriors, need to believe in each and every day. I’m lucky that my one percent chance multiplied by 100. Even when I meet the next obstacle, I will know that a chance is just that-a chance to survive and be here for at least another forty one years.