Stories of Gratitude

Andrew had an active childhood, involved in basketball, football and other sports. As a young adult, his energy level declined, leaving him with continuous exhaustion. "I would come home from work, take a nap for a couple hours, get up and try to be active and then I...

MHIF’s commitment to research and education gave Bill an option that best fit his lifestyle and offered close care to help him through his valve replacement.

After dealing with constant chest pain for many years, Doug was willing to try anything to get his life back.

The days, months and years leading up to my eventual surgeries were dark, to say the least. At nearly 400 pounds, I was unhappy about nearly every aspect of my life.

Karla McGraw doesn’t remember her sudden cardiac arrest, and she is grateful for that. She’s also grateful for MHIF researchers for their groundbreaking work on the Cool-It and Level One programs.

When Anna Schu learned that calcium had built up in her aortic heart valve, causing her to receive inadequate blood flow through the valve, she thought that she didn’t have many options.

In 2002, Peter was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged and cannot pump enough blood to the rest of the body.

In 2014, an MHIF research coordinator received a call from her niece, who had recently learned that her husband might need to have his leg amputated due to popliteal artery entrapment syndrome.