A New Heart, A New Life
Karen Rochester developed a very dangerous heart condition—at one point, she was told she might not survive the ambulance ride to the hospital. But a heart transplant, coupled with a tremendous support system and a positive attitude, the former nurse made it through. Now she likes to tell her story, extolling the importance of community and resilience.
Stephen Calabria: [00:00:00] From the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, this is Road to Resilience, a podcast about facing adversity. I'm your host, Stephen Calabria, Mount Sinai's, director of Podcasting.
On this episode of Road to Resilience, we're joined by Karen Rochester, a heart transplant recipient whose powerful journey reminds us just how far hope, strength, and community can carry us.
Karen was on the brink of heart failure when she was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where her life was saved by a team of dedicated specialists and the gift of a donor heart.
Her recovery wasn't easy. There were setbacks and moments of doubt, but she never stopped fighting. Now, more than a year later, she's thriving and eager to share what helped her through. We're honored to welcome Karen Rochester to the show.
Karen Rochester, welcome to Road to Resilience.
Karen Rochester: Thank you.
Stephen Calabria: So you got your start as a nurse, is that right?
Karen Rochester: That's correct. I became a registered nurse in [00:01:00] 2001.
Stephen Calabria: Okay. And so as a result, you had something of a background in medicine. You knew how to handle patients, you knew what patients would go through when they were under significant stress.
Karen Rochester: Correct.
Stephen Calabria: And so when you were pregnant with your first son, Ani, you were diagnosed with a rare heart condition that's triggered by pregnancy. When did you first realize there was something wrong, and what were the findings?
Karen Rochester: How I first came to realize was I was actually gonna have a tubal ligation after his birth that morning. And during the procedure when they were prepping me for the tubal ligation, the anesthesiologist discovered that I was having some significant arrhythmias. And that's how I, that's how I found out. Prior to that, I had no symptoms.