I was born with a congenital heart defect called Ebstein's Anomaly. Ebstein's Anomaly is a defect where the tricuspid valve is malformed and positioned too low, which allows blood to leak backward from the ventricle to the atrium. I had my first surgery at the age of 7 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. My tricuspid valve was repaired at that time. I had my second surgery at 25 years old at Children's Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis. During that surgery my valve was replaced and I also received a pacemaker since I was having problems with atrial fibrillation. It has now been 10 years since my second surgery and I am doing very well. I will be having my pacemaker replaced for the first time this year since the battery is getting low.

I have participated in the HeartBeat 5000 for many years now. It is a very important cause because congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect. There are a wide variety of heart defects and many of them are very serious and life threatening. I hope you will join my team to support raising money for the cardiovascular programs at Children's Hospitals and Clinics.