10/01/2026
Five years ago, Megan beat overwhelming odds and received the heart transplant that saved her life.
This year, she celebrated that milestone with a Wonder Woman-themed party, a tribute from those who know her best. To her children, Megan is a superhero because, as they proudly tell everyone, "Mom has a special heart."
At just 30, Megan was a newly single mother of two, working full time, and pushing through stress.
She had no idea she was about to suffer a heart attack that would damage her heart beyond repair.
“I woke up, took the kids to daycare, went to work and next thing I knew, life was over for me,” Megan recalled.
After feeling lightheaded, experiencing tingling in her arms and chest pain at work, Megan went to urgent care, where they quickly transported her to the emergency department Advocate Christ Medical Center. While getting an angiogram, she suffered a catastrophic heart attack caused by spontaneous coronary artery dissection, the leading cause of heart attacks in younger women.
Megan coded three times, had a stroke, underwent emergency double-bypass surgery and was placed on life support.
Weeks later, she woke up to learn she needed a heart transplant and there was only a 2% chance of finding a match. After nearly two months of waiting and relentless work by her transplant team, Megan learned they had found a match.
“We had to find a one-in-a-million heart,” said Dr. Anjali Joshi, Megan’s transplant cardiologist. “Because Megan was a mom, she had antibodies that would have ruled out a lot of hearts for her. We had to do a lot to reduce those antibodies and wait for the right heart. From her listening to her body and being in the hospital that morning, to finding her a match to her recovery, every step of her story is incredible.”
Megan now marks the anniversary of her transplant each year as her "birthday," a celebration of the day she was given a second chance.
“I wake up every day thankful,” Megan says. “I ask myself, ‘What do I need today to have the best day ever? What is going to make today feel fulfilled, so I don’t regret it tomorrow?’ It’s not perfect. But I try every day because I got a second chance at life.”