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>> HELLO, I'M JASON SHUSH, AND MY HEART IS THE STORY.
SO ON THE GLORIOUS DAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1999,
I WAS BORN.
YEP.
CAME HOME, THREE DAYS LATER, YOU KNOW,
NORMAL BABY STUFF.
PROBABLY CRIED, A LOT.
SO THEN A NURSE CAME AND THEY SAID,
"HEY, SOMETHING'S WRONG."
SO THEY TOOK ME TO THE HOSPITAL.
AND THEY REALIZED I HAD CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE.
SO THEY REALIZED I ONLY HAVE ONE VENTRICLE.
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE TWO ATRIUMS AND TWO VENTRICLES,
BUT I ONLY HAD ONE.
SO I HAD 3/4 OF A HEART.
SO AT CHOP, WHEN I WAS 10 DAYS OLD
I UNDERWENT MY FIRST OF FOUR MAJOR SURGERIES:
A NORWOOD 1 RECONSTRUCTION.
SO SIX MONTHS LATER I COME BACK,
AND BOOM – I HAVE A HEMI-FONTAN SURGERY.
IT'S NOT MUCH.
SO THEN 3 YEARS LATER I COME BACK AND BOOM – ANOTHER
SURGERY IT'S LIKE A "FUND A VENT." I DON'T KNOW.
IT'S SOME DOCTOR WORD BUT– SO I HAD TO DO THAT.
THOUGH IT SOUNDS PRETTY SERIOUS IT'S NOT THAT BAD.
LASTLY, WHEN I WAS 4 YEARS OLD I HAD A CHAMBER
PACEMAKER SURGERY.
THE PACEMAKER IT'S KIND OF LIKE A LITTLE DEFIBRILLATOR
IN YOUR BODY THAT WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU WHEN
MY HEART STOPS BEATING.
SO THEN WHEN I WAS 4 YEARS OLD,
I GOT SENT HOME AFTER THE SURGERY,
DOING LIKE NORMAL 4-YEAR- OLD STUFF AND THE ONLY THING
I NEED TO DO WAS JUST VISIT.
FIRST IT WAS PROBABLY LIKE EVERY MONTH.
AND THEN WHEN I STARTED KINDERGARTEN,
EVERY THREE MONTHS.
AND THEN EVENTUALLY AS I GREW OLDER AND OLDER,
EVERY SIX MONTHS.
SO NOW I'M JUST A NORMAL 14-YEAR-OLD BOY,
VIDEO GAMES, FRIENDS, SPORTS,
USUAL 14-YEAR-OLD STUFF.
SO IF YOU'RE IN THIS SITUATION,
DON'T WORRY.
THE STAFF IS GREAT AND THE BEST PART IS YOU ALSO GET TO
LIVE YOUR LIFE AS A NORMAL BOY WHILE STILL BEING
CONNECTED TO THE HOSPITAL, ALMOST LIKE A FAMILY.
SO THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY STORY.