I'm 23 and I had two open heart operations- but my right to health fades when someone says it's my pre-existing condition.

I published ta version of this in the blog for young democrats in Spanish: http://yda.org/blog/post/825

Please foward this as you please and use it for your awareness campaign on health care reform

I'm 23 and I had two open heart operations- but my right to health fades when someone says it's my pre-existing condition.

By: Ada Alvarez

I was born with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) a condition that mixes up several malfunctions of the heart, but the main thing is that it comes with a hole in the heart that mixed oxigenated and non-oxigenated blood. I was born a baby blue, purple and fatigued, to the point where I couldn't walk because I had half of peoples levels of oxigen. My parents waited a long time to see if it got better, it didn't and at 8 years old I already was in a wheelchair because oxigen didn't get to my legs. My first operation 8 years old. It was interesting to see nurses asking me to call my grandpa to get in, when I was the patient. My color changed, I even passed out in the operation, saw a tunnel, light, all of the things that made me write my first poem. This changed my life and I never saw it the same. Since then I write. At 14 my heart grew and what they had put collapsed so they needed to put a solid material because the tissue one that had covered the hole came to short when my heart grew into an "adult size". Then I had my second operation, and I became more grateful than ever. It was interesting to see nurses asking me to call my grandpa to get in, when I was the patient.I have a "do it now you never know attitude" that has led me to publish two books, becoming Puerto Rico youngest novelists, many extracurriculars, volunteer of the year award, advocacy for health and a Masters in Journalism, which I'm focusing on Health and Environmental Journalism.

At 19 in college I remember going to classrooms that weren't too healthy, somewhat fongus was in the walls and that developed asthma, for the first time. I was getting fatigued and fainted. Good thing my cardiologist saw me and discovered my pulmonary arthery was closing, from 14mm it was supposed to be it turn in one side 8 and in the other 3. Oxigen again was shutting down. I had an angiplasty and have now two stents. I do exercise, eat well and even have an associate degree in nutrition and fitness to help people who want to have healthy habits. For me healthy choices are not an option, they represent life. If I back down, I'm turning back to be the girl that couldn't even walk and that is not a choice for me. To think, that even oxygen is taken for granted when I know what the lack of it causes. I'm a 5'9 Puerto Rican that goes to the gym 5 times a week and eats 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. Healthy, strong and powerful and everytime I see my scar in my chest I feel prettier. I see it and I think: thank you God, here comes another day... let's do this.I'm forever thankful for my family who had to deal with hospitals for this rare-case, to my Dr. Angel Espinosa who is a human form of a guardian angel and for all the people that see my heart and myself beyong my beautiful scar. Now is my time to give back, my heart in all senses it's full of life, if you are ok say thank you too and if you can do something, do it not only for yourselves but for everyone out there who might need you.

I'm also trying to do something about heart health, especially in kids, like you will see in my story I was born with TOF, and right now I'm fighting because NO ONE- No health care I've had covers my heart because it's a pre-existing condition... So what can I do if I get sick in the future. Last year I finished my Masters, a cost of almost $35,000 in tuition without housing and expenses. I got a flu, turned into an infection that got to my stents (from the angioplasty)- five days in the hospital $30,000. So my Masters and 5 days of a hospital, for a minor infection and flu, was almost the same cost. Do you think that is fair? Do you think is fair that many are trying to make the Health Insurance Reform impossible. SAY NO! You should have gone through this yourself, if not, do it for me... and consider that I'm just one story of millions...

HEALTH=QUALITY LIFE. FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT. FIGHT FOR LIFE. FIGHT FOR AMERICA AND A HEALTH CARE REFORM!

Count on me- I'm counting on you!

This is my story.....

Ada Alvarez

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