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Annie Ulchak was born in Lima, Peru in 1979 with nomenclature HLHS, pulmonary stenosis, double inlet right atrium, and double outlet right ventricle.  She was adopted and had the two-stage HLHS process: BT shunt at age 3 and classic Fontan at age 7 at Boston Children's Hospital. 

She was diagnosed with CHF and cardiac cirrhosis in 2010. In June 2014, she was diagnosed with autoimmune serositis of the peritoneum. In December 2014 and January 2015, she was diagnosed with atrial flutters and has undergone two cardiac ablations. Following her most recent health struggles, Annie developed a passion for nutrition and improved her health dramatically via an overhaul of her diet. 

Annie works full time as a dual executive assistant and project coordinator for a prominent Boston healthcare system. When she's not working, she can be found volunteering at Quincy Animal Shelter and for the Adult Congenital Heart Association’s Peer-to-Peer mentoring program. 

Annie's other Heart to Heart with Anna episodes:

Living with HLHS & Evolving Diagnoses

https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/4107911

Houston Methodist ACHD 2021 Virtual Conference

https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/9476981

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With congenital heart defects being the #1 birth defect around the globe, there are many people touched by this condition. At least 1% of the population is born with a heart defect. Many of them will be innocent murmurs that will close up on their own. But some people have more serious heart conditions.

In this special mini-series episode for Heart Month 2023, Anna asks her Listeners to identify some famous entertainers who have been touched by CHDs. Put your thinking cap on and let's see if you can guess who these 4 Entertainers are!

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In our first CHD Spotlight episode, we'll discuss half-a-heart conditions -- hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), hypoplastic right heart syndrome (HRHS), and single ventricle hearts.

Dr. Edward Bove is our expert guest. Dr. Bove spent most of his career as a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Michigan Health System. A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Albany Medical College, he went to the University of Michigan for his residency. He returned to U of M in 1985 and by 2012, he had performed 10,000 heart surgeries, mostly on babies. Dr. Bove is a long-time supporter of Hearts Unite the Globe and currently serves as the head of our Medical Advisory Board.

In this CHD Spotlight, Dr. Bove explains what HLHS, HRHS, and single ventricle hearts are, what methods are used to treat these conditions, and how treatment for these conditions has changed over time.

Former appearances by Dr. Bove on "Heart to Heart with Anna"
Advancements in Treatments for HLHS Heart Warriors
Learning about ccTGA and the Double-Switch Procedure

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How can a special education teacher's training influence her writing technique when creating her first children's book? What elements of storytelling are important for young children when they are learning new concepts through books? Why did this mother of a baby with Scimitar Syndrome feel she needed to write a book to help other families like her own?

Katy Green is married to her husband Scott, and together they have three children: Henry, aged 8, Lyle, aged 6, and Charlotte, aged 4. Charlotte was born with Scimitar syndrome, which consists of several congenital defects. 

In addition to the syndrome, she was also diagnosed with multiple other complex medical conditions and underwent six surgeries before she was 18 months old. Charlotte is yet to face heart surgery, which she will need at some time in the future. 

Concerned that Charlotte will be old enough to remember her heart surgery, Katy wanted to help prepare her daughter for this day and build her confidence and resilience. A former educator, she wrote her first children's book "My Scars, My Brave Adventure" to help celebrate differences and surgical scars. Katy and her family live in Chicago, where they love to spend time at parks and museums as a family.

Links to Katy Green:

www.katygreenauthor.com
instagram: @katygreen_author
LinkedIn: Katy Green 

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What considerations need to be made if patients with congenital heart defects are aligned with the LGBTQ+ community?  

Dr. Jake Kleinmahon attended medical school and completed his residency in pediatrics at Tulane University School of Medicine. He continued his training at Children's Colorado, completing fellowships in pediatric cardiology and pediatric heart transplant and advanced heart failure. 

In 2018 he joined the faculty at Ochsner Hospital for Children in New Orleans where he serves as the medical director of pediatric heart transplant, heart failure, and ventricular assist device programs. 

He has been active in multiple research efforts and societies to advance heart, lung, and transplant health outcomes, and works to improve healthcare disparities among different CHD racial groups. 

He was awarded Doctor of the Year by the Colorado Pediatric Congenital Heart Association in 2018. His interests include taking care of children with cardiomyopathies, myocarditis, connective tissue disorders, heart transplant, pulmonary hypertension, and congenital heart disease. He lives in New Orleans with his husband Tom and two children, Isabel (6 y/o) and Connor (3 y/o). 

Check out Dr. Jake Kleinmahon on Instagram! @Heartdoctordaddyshark 

Sheri Turner is our newest Defender Patron and she also serves as a HUG Volunteer. Thank you so much for your generosity and all you do, Sheri!

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How do you enjoy the holidays when your heart warrior is in the hospital during the holiday season? What can you do, as a parent, grandparent, or friend, when a child is in the hospital during the holidays? Why is it especially difficult to have a child in the hospital during the holidays?

We’ll answer these questions and more in this episode which features Jenny Muscatell and Lauren Backe. These heart moms have both faced plenty of hospital time and they have some advice and experiences to share with us.

Jenny Muscatell is a Licensed Social Worker, author, and radio host for Christian Mix 106.  She is the Co-founder of Muscatell Ministries, The Heart Community Collection, and serves as Editor in Chief for CHD Magazine. 

As a licensed social worker, Jenny has established an extensive reservoir of expertise specializing in crisis intervention, health systems, and end-of-life care. 

Her best-selling book, The Journey of Faith and Open Heart, shares the story of how she found faith battling for her daughter's life against odds in a true but inspirational journey of trial and triumph. 

Through faith-filled presentations, and heartfelt written words, Jenny’s mission is to give voice to the vulnerable, hope to the hurting, and to make way for the unspoken to be told.

Lauren Backe is Mom to Jack and Everly. Her daughter Everly was born with a congenital heart defect. Everly was induced at a hospital 65 miles from home after a prenatal diagnosis determined she would need open-heart surgery right after birth. Lauren and Matt Backe decided after their daughter’s surgery that they wanted to make life better for children born with CHDs, and other hospitalized children. Lauren currently serves on the Advocate Children's Hospital Family Advisory Council, is a board member for LJ's Healing Hearts and is an active contributor in planning and running LJ's events. She is also a committee member for Children's Heart Foundation Red Tie Ball.

Together, Lauren, Matt, Jack (10), and Everly (5) work with Brave Gowns to get soft, comfortable, and fun hospital gowns on kids. They collect pop tabs to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities, and attend school kickoffs for the American Heart Association: Kids Heart Challenge. The Backe Family also enjoyed writing a book about Everly's CHD journey in 2020 with the foundation, Books that Heal. The Backe Family recently set up a blood drive with the American Red Cross.

Helpful Links to Broadcast Episodes Mentioned in the Show:

Jenny Muscatell’s previous Heart to Heart with Anna appearances:

Jenny Muscatell: Heart Mom, and Author
The “CHD Magazine”: A Magazine for the Congenital Heart Defect Community
Jenny’s book
Matt Backe’s episode: Beyond the Scar: Bonding with our CHD Children

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Gwen Fosse is a Clinical Outreach Specialist at U of MI Congenital Heart Centre at Mott Children's Hospital. She has almost 50 years of experience working with patients affected by CHD and their families. In this episode, Gwen Fosse, RN shares about what SCA is, who is affected, what Project A.D.A.M. is, and what people can do to be #READY to help someone who might have an SCA. 

Gwen’s Links:

Project ADAM –

·       National: https://tinyurl.com/3bh5hpxc

·       Michigan: https://tinyurl.com/8vfd6bf3

Michigan Dept of Health & Human Services – MI HEARTSafe Schools Program

·      https://tinyurl.com/2ppdv9tc

Data:

·       AHA info: https://tinyurl.com/mr3mv86x

·     AED App. https://tinyurl.com/ycxef3j5

·       SCA Outcomes: https://tinyurl.com/3t62b9sv

Pediatric Guideline
·       https://tinyurl.com/3xubxckj

School Nurses
·       https://www.nasn.org/home

·       Cardiac Emergency Response Planning for Schools: https://tinyurl.com/5e9ubnhc

AHA

·       https://www.heart.org/

·       CPR and First Aid https://cpr.heart.org/en/

CPR – Hands-Only resources:

·       http://heart.arizona.edu/learn-cpr

·       www.heart.org/handsonlycpr  (AHA 2012)

·       The Michigan Way - https://tinyurl.com/vf3brvj5

SCA conditions info.:

·       SADS Foundation: https://sads.org/

·       Medication cautions: https://crediblemeds.org/

Heart to Heart with Anna SCA episodes:

Saving a Life from Sudden Cardiac Death: https://tinyurl.com/bdcwu9uf

Jackie Renfrow’s show (about Long Q-T Syndrome): https://tinyurl.com/58b7w338

Championship Hearts: https://tinyurl.com/8dy2m2zt

Nonprofit organizations providing AEDs and heart screenings to the community:

Championship Hearts Foundation – https://www.champhearts.org

Living for Zachary – https://tinyurl.com/b6575u7s

Via Heart Project –

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Who is Jake Ryan and why did he write a book? What happens when it’s the parent who is the Heart Warrior? How do you prepare your children for your heart surgery?

Jake Ryan was a busy father of three-and-a-half-year-old twins - a son and daughter - when his life changed forever. He collapsed during a routine workout one day at the gym. Fortunately, he was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm and a faulty mitral valve. After his surgery, he worried that he would not be able to be the kind of involved and playful dad that his kids were used to. Finding no books for children that described a parent having a cardiac incident and needing surgery, he decided to write such a book. Today, he lives in New York City and is a single dad to his now teenage children. He runs a life coaching business and can be found on TicToc and Instagram as @FreeJakeRyan.

 We’ll start today’s program by learning a bit about Jake and his immediate family. In the second segment, we’ll talk about the book he wrote and in the final segment, we’ll learn more about Jake Ryan’s plans for the future.

For Jake’s newsletter and more, use this link: https://stan.store/freejakeryan

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How is it possible an organ donor might actually be responsible for two lives, even when giving a heart to a man? What was life like for Nick May years after his heart transplant? Did Nick May have a similar experience as his siblings growing up, considering he had a heart transplant as an infant? 

Susan May is mom to Nick, 33, who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, transposition of the great arteries, coarctation of the aorta, and a septal defect.  He had three surgeries at 5 days, 3 1/2 months, and one year of age, prior to receiving a heart transplant just before his second birthday. Nick is one of the first children in the US to receive a heart transplant and is the 5th longest-living transplant recipient. Today, he is married with a daughter.

Susan has written a book about her son's heart journey, with a revised edition released this year. Susan also writes professionally and has written 40 books in total, including a non-fiction book about a WWII flight surgeon and 33 medical romance novels. She has three other children and eight grandchildren. She likes to travel, read and sew. 

My Loyal Listeners will remember Susan from earlier in 2022 when she came on the program with an episode called, “Baby Heart Transplant Miracle.”

Link to Susan’s other show:

Baby Heart Transplant Miracle: https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/10139146

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Baby Hearts Press People's Choice Award Winners, Dr. Brandon Lane Phillips and Jeremy Miller, return to "Heart to Heart with Anna' with an update on how their award-winning book is doing and all of the exciting news surrounding the book. Why would a cardiologist choose to write his life story about growing up with tetralogy of Fallot? How did his life intersect with his favorite childhood actor from the 1980s TV sitcom "Growing Pains"? What new project are these gentlemen working on?

You'll learn the answers to these questions and more in this episode of "Heart to Heart with Anna."

Helpful Links to Broadcast Episodes Mentioned in the Show:

Starlight Foundation (for wishes for kids with chronic illness) 

https://www.starlight.org/

Fox and Friends interview with Brandon and Jeremy: https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/growing-pains-star-jeremy-miller-and-doctor-discuss-30-year-friendship

Dr. Brandon Lane Phillips’ Other “Heart to Heart with Anna” appearances:

8th Anniversary Special Part 1  https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/9611160 

Heart Warrior Doctor-Nurse Team: Treating Pediatric Cardiology Patients https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/3725774

Interwoven Lives and Congenital Heart Defects  https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/1539262

Dr. Brandon Phillips and Jeremy Miller’s other joint appearance:

A Wish-Made Friendship https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/4190255

Sheri Turner is our newest Defender Patron and she also serves as a HUG Volunteer. Thank you so much for your generosity and all you do, Sheri!

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