I Just Wanted to Survive — How Surviving Turned Into a Mission

I Had No Idea My Story Would Matter This Much

I didn’t choose to become a patient pioneer out of bravery. I said yes to a clinical trial because I was out of options and out of time.

When I joined the EVOQUE study, I wasn’t dreaming of research or breakthroughs. I was praying to wake up the next morning. I was in hospice with torrential tricuspid valve regurgitation, told to get my affairs in order. But somewhere in that darkness, there was a spark—a trial that offered hope, even if it was uncertain.

And I said yes.

That decision didn’t just save my life—it changed it.

What I didn’t realize back then is how my survival would become part of something much bigger. My voice, my outcome, my symptoms… they became data. Evidence. A lived experience that could help shape how doctors, regulators, and researchers think about tricuspid valve disease.

Grateful. Humbled. Still standing. Sharing my story on stage at NSM in Denver

👉🏽 That’s the power of being a patient pioneer—you don’t just receive care. You become part of a shift in how care is delivered.

When you survive what almost took you, you gain a kind of clarity. You see the holes in the system more clearly. You understand what silence costs. And you realize how many others are still out there, being told "nothing more can be done."

So I speak. Not because I want to relive the pain—but because someone out there needs to know there is another side to it.

Too many women are dismissed, especially when it comes to heart symptoms. Too many patients with tricuspid valve disease are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed because this valve has long been left out of the conversation. That has to change—and it is changing, because patients are stepping forward, telling their truths, and becoming part of the solution.

I never saw this legacy coming. But now that I have it, I’ll use every breath I fought for to make sure others don’t have to fight as hard as I did.

I shared more of my story in this blog post. I hope you’ll give it a read, and if it resonates, share it with someone who needs to hear it. 📖 Read the full blog

Have you ever felt like your story could help someone else? Let’s keep building the bridge together. 

#HospiceSurvivor #TricuspidValveAwareness #WomenAndHeartHealth #Heart2HeartTalk #WeAreTheEvidence #ClinicalTrialsMatter #PatientPioneer #EVOQUETrial #TricuspidValveMiracle