My name's Bryanna. I'm a 19-year-old college student, and I've always dreamed of becoming a vet tech. I have a deep love for animals, big or small, scales or soft. You could ask anyone who knows me. I've been studying and working hard to try and achieve my goal—sleepless nights, extra shifts, and so on—until I couldn't. Until doctor's visits became weekly, to every other day. Until my heart was reading in the 30s. I was 19, diagnosed with congenital heart failure. I thought I'd moved past my heart problems; I'd already had 2 pacemaker surgeries and a hole in my heart filled. Boy, was I wrong.

I kept quiet about it for a while, till I couldn't handle it alone. I told my grandma; she was as worried as me. Being told there's a chance I could just go at any point was scary to us. I eventually came and told my parents and friends. I wanted people to know that me being distant wasn't their fault; I was only scared. I had only just found a way to cope with my mental health, found my reason to keep going, and now I felt it was all for nothing. My life was crumbling yet again.

Eventually, I came to terms with it. Made a bucket list, kept up with my job, and decided no matter what, that I was gonna fight it to the end. I went to work, went to doctor's appointments, and took care of myself and my pets. Everything was going smoothly again. And then I started having seizures, randomly and without warning. They hurt a lot and weren't helping my heart either. I was then informed by my doctor that work was impossible. It was killing me. I hated that; work was one thing I could do. I had already been stripped of things I enjoyed, now this? It felt unfair, and I was worried.

I can no longer afford my bills, ones I need to live. I already live with my parents. They want to help, but we're lower class. They can't afford to help me. I'm trying to get a remote job, but even then, my doctor's against it because of the stress. I'm not going to say I've done everything to prevent this from happening, but I've given everything I know. I'm asking for help until I can get myself healthy enough to where I can work again. Please and thank you, with all my heart.