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Ten years ago two strangers met at a camp for children born with heart defects and became fast friends. The seed of a project was also planted at that time. In this episode of "Heart to Heart with Anna," we'll meet Producer, Director, and Sound Technician James Eric and Heart Warrior Jeni Bust as they share with Anna what it was like to create a documentary about Jeni's life.

James Eric is a heart patient, a director and the producer of Journey’s Beginning, a documentary about Jeni Busta and her life with hypoplastic left heart syndrome or HLHS.

James was a sound technician, producer, writer and director in Hollywood, California until he had a heart attack in 2008. After recovering from quad bypass surgery, he met counselors and campers from Camp Del Corazon on the set of ER and volunteered at the camp the following year. That’s where he met Jeni Busta and learned that a person could actually live with half a heart. A year later, Mr. Eric’s cousin and his wife discovered they were expecting a little girl with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (or HLHS), and decided to continue the pregnancy despite advice from others to terminate.

Jeni and James took a road trip to Colorado to meet his cousin and their daughter. They filmed the journey and created the documentary almost 10 years ago.

Jeni Busta was born with HLHS in 1985. She had her Norwood Procedure at 1 day of age and the Fontan Procedure at 17 months of age. She received a pacemaker when she was 3 years old and has had numerous pacemaker replacements and heart catheterizations since then. Jeni, her parents Jill and Paul Sorensen, and her husband Nick Busta have all been strong advocates in the congenital heart defect community. Perhaps the biggest project for Jeni, to date, has been her participation in the making of the documentary Journey’s Beginning.

To view this documentary, use this link: https://youtu.be/JisLUAfTATc
On Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Journeys-Beginning-119486121504657/

Here are links of other programs with Jeni Busta mentioned in this episode:

Adults with Congenital Heart Defects Finding Love:  https://tinyurl.com/vr25msb

Surviving the Teenage Years with a Congenital Heart Defect:  https://tinyurl.com/w49uuz3

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