October 19, 2021

CHD in the 1980s: Mum, Dad and Daughter

37 minutes

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What was it like raising a daughter with a congenital heart defect in Australia in the 1980s? What challenges did parents of a daughter requiring open-heart surgery face? What does an adult Heart Warrior appreciate about her parents now that she's all grown up?

Donna and Ian were born in Brisbane, Australia in the 1950s. They met in the early 1980s and married in 1982. Megan was born in February 1983. All was going well for the new family until Megan became unwell at 6 days old. Megan made her first ambulance trip to the pediatric cardiology unit at Prince Charles Hospital. With her parents by her side, Megan spent the first four months of her life in the hospital where she had a pulmonary banding operation and finally became strong enough to go home. Megan had two more surgeries as a child, at age 5 and 10, and one surgery at age 25. Today, Donna is very active in her local church and the sewing guild, and Ian plays drums in several local bands.

Megan's former "Heart to Heart with Anna" appearances:

"Expressions from the Heart on HeartWire" https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/398986
"One Heart Warrior's Educational Experience Down Under" https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/546571
"Travels of a Heart Warrior" https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/1512628
"When You're Married to a Heart Warrior" https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/1686034

Links to 'Heart to Heart with Anna' Social Media and Podcast Pages:

Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-to-heart-with-anna/id1132261435?mt=2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HearttoHeartwithAnna/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hearttoheartwithanna/

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/annajaworski

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnaJaworski

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGPKwIU5M_YOxvtWepFR5Zw

Website: https://www.hug-podcastnetwork.com/