State:
Pennsylvania
Geoffrey Roche, Pennsylvania
Geoffrey Roche, longtime AHA Pennsylvania Field Representative and Chair of the Policy and Legislative Planning Committee, is passionate about advocating for comprehensive smoke free air laws with no exemptions, a pillar of the AHA’s tobacco control advocacy efforts.
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Kim Leo, Pennsylvania
A little over ten months ago, I suffered a massive heart attack. It was one week to the day of my 47th birthday, one that I almost didn’t have the chance to celebrate. Other than taking medication for hypertension, I was considered to be in great health. My daily routine included at least 30 minutes of cardio activity. I ate a very healthy diet and was a non-smoker.
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Tamara Claycomb, Pennsylvania
On September 5, 2010 my family’s life was changed forever by cardiovascular disease. My husband was a long time basketball coach, active golfer, and constantly working at things around and in the house. He had just had a full medical checkup with normal lab results. He was feeling “funny” that day and collapsed in our living room from a heart attack. I called 911 and began CPR. We have no local ambulance service in our rural town and it was over 50 minutes until they arrived. It was too late.
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Ashley and Crystal Hosey, Pennsylvania
Crystal Hosey is an energetic and delightful 4-year-old who was born with a heart defect. At first, the hospital pediatrician thought she had a heart murmur, but at Crystal’s one week checkup with her regular pediatrician he thought it was something more serious. After testing, it was determined that Crystal was born with only three of her four heart valves. She underwent her first surgery in July of 2007. Doctors put a conduit (a small tube like piece of plastic) in her heart to replace the valve that was missing. This is a temporary fix and as Crystal grows the conduit will not grow with her, so she will continue to need surgeries.
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Sallee and Austin, Pennsylvania
There is nothing scarier than to find out your 2 day old infant has 3 heart defects. My name is Sallee and my son Austin was born 5 weeks early on December 21, 2004. On December 23, 2004, Austin was taken by ambulance to Hershey Medical Center. He was diagnosed with Coarctation of the Aorta, Ventricular Septal Defect and Bicuspid Aortic Valve. On December 27th, Austin, just 6 days old, underwent his first heart surgery to fix the blockage in his aorta.
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Leigh-Anne Weiss, Pennsylvania
At the age of 34, I experienced a stroke. It was January 21, 2009 and I had the day off work and was excited to be watching the Presidential inauguration on TV. I was on the phone with my husband when I started having difficulty. I was trying to pick up a pen from my desk and just couldn’t make my hand work. Suddenly my speech became strange and slurred. I remember saying "I can't find my words" and becoming increasingly agitated. Luckily my husband David recognized that something was terribly wrong…that I wasn’t just “stressed out”!
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Julie Marconi, Pennsylvania
My mother Peggy Donahay died December 7, 2011, at age 80. She had heart disease, was a diabetic, and experienced seven mini-strokes. We had been taking care of her for the last 4 years. On November 2011, she had another stroke which affected her walking, talking and swallowing. They told us there was nothing else they could to do, but two weeks later she was eating, walking and trying to talk. There was hope!
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