I Am One of the Miracles
Born with a congenital heart condition, Tim Carmon was one of Connecticut Children’s first patients. More than 27 years later and now in his forties, he is still a patient here—with Connecticut Children’s adult congenital heart disease program. Tim shared his story:
I stood on the squash court ready for the serve when I heard my coach tell me I needed to sit down. “I’m fine,” I thought to myself as the door opened. I sat down outside the court, and I started to see stars. My complexion was pale, and my lips were a slight blue. It had been almost 10 years since my first two open heart surgeries to correct my Tetralogy condition, and now it seemed like I needed a replacement. Being fully grown and getting ready to head off to college, I was ready to get a long-term fix and put this heart issue behind me. Having just turned 18, Dr. Harris Leopold, my cardiologist at Connecticut Children’s, started to talk to me about moving into a program for adults. At the time, I didn’t realize the unique and growing need of adults living with congenital heart issues, but over the next 25 years I became more aware of the growing population of those that were lucky enough to live in a time when the 1 in 100 born with heart conditions can not only live to adulthood but thrive.
Watch Tim surprise Dr. Heller!