Deb Wells was caught by surprise when she suffered a stroke in 1998 while on a business trip with her husband in Maui. Seven years after the stroke, she was finally diagnosed with sick sinus syndrome, and has since had two pacemakers implanted. Deb is grateful every day to be alive and shares her personal…Read More…

In the heart of Bristol, Vermont, lives a remarkable young woman whose life-changing experience has propelled her on a mission to ensure the safety of student-athletes across the state. At just 11 years old during a swim meet in Essex, VT, Payton Jones suffered a sudden cardiac arrest – an event that could have ended tragically were it…Read More…

During the summer of 2019 I experienced trouble breathing off and on. I met with my doctor and explained what was happening and was prescribed anxiety medication. After 30 days of taking the medicine, I returned to the doctor and explained I was still having the same symptoms. She told me to continue taking the…Read More…

On Saturday, September 3, 2016, Trudy and her husband, John, were preparing produce for sale at the local farmers market. Trudy had been on the front steps of their home cleaning potatoes, and John went out to check on her progress. He found her on their landing of the steps, with her arms crossed over…Read More…

The experience of sending our first child off to college in the fall of 2019 was a life changing experience… but not in the way I ever expected. It wasn’t long after I began the trip to Colorado with our oldest that I knew something was wrong. She was coughing, running a fever and complaining…Read More…

They say we only have one heart. Some of us are lucky enough to know someone who got a second heart. My family has been supporting the American Heart Association since 1994 when my cousin Emma became the first infant in MN to receive a heart transplant. Sadly she passed at the age of three….Read More…

Melissa Dodge isn’t used to putting herself front and center. She is far more comfortable advocating for the American Heart Association on behalf of her daughter, Brooklynn, who was born with half a heart. But when you ask Melissa what she fears most, it’s not being there to take care of Brooklynn and her other…Read More…

Occasionally I’m asked about my passion for AHA. Why I volunteer, why I believe in the organization and why I travel, speak, walk, jump rope, sponsor and participate. In a society that constantly questions what’s in it for me, I’m happy to share. First and foremost, what’s in it for me is you. Every year…Read More…

In 1988 I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, She was 14 days late and I was in labor for 17 hours before the doctors decided to do an emergency C-section because the baby showed some signs of distress and Momma was too. The surgery went well, even though at one point I was…Read More…

I’ve always wondered about the root of my motivations.  Why do I care so much about my health and the health of those around me?  I’m that annoying person who always wants to hear about your ailments and offers a tidbit of solution from something I recently read.  I just can’t help it; I love…Read More…