A joyous birth, followed by heart failure

尽管达尼西亚·威廉姆斯24岁，身体健康，但她的第一次怀孕对她的身体造成了损害. Her blood pressure spiked, straining her heart and other organs.

医生诊断她患有先兆子痫，并对她和孩子进行了数月的密切监测. They braced for what might happen when she went into labor. Indeed, her heart rate skyrocketed while the baby's plummeted, prompting an emergency cesarean section.

当威廉姆斯的血压继续攀升时，她迎接了她的新儿子以赛亚. 她在医院住了一个星期，直到她的数字稳定下来.

她回到堪萨斯州威奇托的家才两天，就开始喘不过气来. Her legs swelled. 威廉姆斯的母亲赶紧把她送到医生那里，医生说x光检查显示她心脏衰竭.

威廉姆斯认为心力衰竭是老年人的病，而不是20多岁的新妈妈的病.

"Am I about to die?" she thought. "I have this brand new baby. Who is going to care for him?"

Williams went right to the hospital. 超声心动图显示她的心脏功能只有25%的容量. Doctors determined she had peripartum cardiomyopathy, 一种罕见的情况，在怀孕期间或怀孕后心肌变弱.

他们告诉她，心脏功能相似的人通常还能活五年左右. She received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

Williams felt depressed and anxious. She couldn't stop worrying. To take her mind off her diagnosis, she became active. 她花沙巴足球体育平台和儿子在一起，每个周末和朋友出去玩，并积极参与教会活动.

Six years later, she was increasingly tired. It was hard to climb the stairs to her bedroom. She felt sick to her stomach.

圣诞节后几天，威廉姆斯在厨房为以赛亚准备哈密瓜. Across the room, her brother watched her drop a piece on the floor, then pick it up and put it in her mouth.

"He knew immediately something was wrong, something wasn't connecting, because that's not normal behavior for me," Williams said.

She could hear but couldn't respond. Her brother called 911. At the hospital, a scan revealed she'd had a stroke. While in the ER, she had another.

Her speech and movement weren't permanently impacted. But her heart was.

With her heart functioning at 10%-15% now, doctors put her on the waiting list for a heart transplant. A year later, her heart function fell further.

“医生告诉我妈妈，‘我们需要做点什么，否则她会死的，’”威廉姆斯说. “对我来说最难的部分是接受我可能已经离开了这个世界和我的孩子."

医生为她植入了一个装置，为她的左心脏承担了工作量. 左心室辅助装置使她能够参加以赛亚小学的母子舞会.

"It really improved quality of life," she said.

一年后的一天晚上，她正准备睡觉，这时电话响了. It was the transplant hospital in Oklahoma City. "They said, 'We have a heart we've accepted on your behalf. Are you interested?"

She had to be there within three hours.

Williams' sister would care for Isaiah. Before going to his aunt's home, 以赛亚把自己的一张相框塞进妈妈的包里，说, "You're going to need this."

The 12-hour surgery was a success. Eight years after her health issues began, and after two years on the transplant list, Williams had a new, strong heart.

她被告知她的捐赠者是一名遭遇车祸的十几岁女孩. 威廉姆斯弄清楚了她的身份:17岁的赖利·马龙，一名来自德克萨斯州的高三学生.

威廉姆斯写信感谢他们，并告诉他们，因为他们的女儿, she would be able to watch Isaiah grow up.

The family wrote back. They continued to exchange letters, then spoke on the phone. 今年9月，在威廉姆斯移植手术四周年纪念日，他们在德克萨斯州会面.

巴特·马龙听着女儿在威廉姆斯胸腔里的心跳. As he did, Williams said, "It's strong, huh?"

"It's strong, it's so strong," Malone said through tears.

The meeting felt like closure for Williams. For Malone, it was comforting.

"My wife has a terminal illness, 所以听到达尼西亚的声音是上帝最小的祝福之一," he said. "She is a beautiful young lady and has a beautiful story. We feel like our daughter's heart is in a good place."

Stories From the Heart 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.

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