A patient who had undergone heart surgery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) three times as a child now works as a nurse in the same hospital.
Now, patients lined up for heart surgery find their anxiety and fears washed away when they see the "zipper" beneath her scrub suit, Today reported.
Growing up with a heart defect
As a child, MarlaJan Wexler-Gormley spent a considerable amount of time at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Having gone through three open-heart surgeries herself, she had her first surgery for her congenital heart defect at six months old.
She was born in August 1981, and doctors noticed her heart "murmur." Later, doctors found a "minimal ventricular septal defect." The doctors assured her parents that it would heal independently, and they did not need any surgical intervention.
However, when her parents brought her home, things quickly changed. Her parents noticed she had difficulty feeding. She was always short of breath and was sweaty. She also often gruntled and was losing a considerable amount of weight.
Her mom thought that something was not right. Hence, to seek a second opinion, her mother visited CHOP. Doctors told her parents that she has a Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect.
According to the Center for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC), congenital heart disease is caused by structural heart abnormalities, which sometimes lessen the oxygen in the blood, causing the babies to look blue. For babies, it is associated with arrhythmia, dizziness, slow development, and vulnerability to getting infections in the heart.
Getting the surgeries
Her first surgery was six months when she underwent a procedure to help her until she was big enough for a surgical repair. She had her first open-heart procedure at two years old. It was difficult for her parents because she had a cardiac arrest while going through the operation.
At four and six, she had two more open-heart surgeries. She also mentioned a surgery where she was utterly dependent on oxygen and medicine to treat her heart failure, as her heart was no longer working.
After her surgery at six, she anticipated another major operation to replace her pulmonary valve.
Paying it forward
After the series of operations, she returned to everyday life with restrictions. She was not allowed to participate in games and sports, and her "zipper" is a reminder of her life battles. She, however, excelled in science and wished to be a forensic pathologist.
She finished college with a biology degree and wondered about her next career move. After talking to her mom's friend about her childhood experience, her eyes were opened to nursing.
Then it suddenly made sense. She remembered her favorite nurses as a child who helped her through operations and how they impacted her. She applied to nursing schools and set her heart in pediatric nursing.
She finally received a new pulmonary valve in 2020, 34 years after her last open-heart surgery. Helping patients and families in CHOP helped her psychologically as she threaded through fears and anxieties that she had to deal with, she said.
