Hi, my name is Mary, and I am a 34-year-old mother of two beautiful daughters.

Over the past two to three years, my life has been dramatically altered by serious cardiac conditions: Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia, Bradycardia, and POTS. While these names may sound harmless to some, the reality has been anything but. I now experience frequent syncopal (fainting) episodes, repeated hospitalizations, and daily symptoms that affect every part of my life.

In the past year alone, I have been hospitalized six separate times. I’ve undergone countless labs, tests, procedures, and tried many medications. One of the most expensive medications I currently rely on is Corlanor, along with ongoing testing and the placement of a loop recorder. For a long time, I was dismissed and told, “You’re too young,” even though I knew something was wrong. Thankfully, a new cardiologist later confirmed what I had felt all along.

Before all of this, I was thin, athletic, highly driven, and a go-getter. I worked extremely hard to build a beautiful life for myself and my two daughters, largely on my own, with little outside support. I proudly served as a Nursing Home Administrator, a career I loved and worked hard for. Unfortunately, my health declined to the point where I could no longer continue in that role, ultimately costing me my career and income. I accepted a position with significantly reduced pay to accommodate my health—but even then, I continue to miss work often due to hospitalizations and medical complications.

Now, after meeting with specialists at Tampa General, I finally have a treatment plan. Originally , I was scheduled to undergo a cardioneural ablation on February 13th. However, due to the instability of my cardiovascular health, they moved up my procedure to December 12th. Leaving me only a week to prepare from scheduling to the surgery. The plan was to have this procedure along with the placement of an on-demand pacemaker by my electrophysiologist in Fort Myers in January. After surgery, I will need time to recover, recondition my body, and possibly complete physical therapy. This means more medical bills, more time off work, and more financial strain. As of December 12th, my ablation was completed but with less than the desired outcome, I received surgical notes and discharge information that stated, “Inducible left atrial tachycardia s/p RFA : Inducible left atrial tachycardia (LAT) after a radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a known proarrhythmic complication that is often managed with a repeat catheter ablation procedure, as it is frequently challenging to manage with medication alone.” Therefore, another ablation will be scheduled in the future along with the pacemaker.

Asking for help is incredibly difficult for me. I’ve always been the one who pushes through. But right now, I truly need support. Any donation—no matter the size—will help ease the overwhelming financial burden of medical bills, medications, recovery, and lost wages, allowing me to focus on healing and being the best mother I can be.

If you’re unable to donate, sharing this page means more than you know. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading, for supporting us, and for helping me fight my way back to health.

With gratitude,

Mary