Transcript

Oh it feels great to walk again. And this is my way of giving back. I'm Mary Beaumont, and I'm joining the Heart Walk this year, because I believe that everyone should have access to the treatment that I received here at UT Southwestern. It saves lives, it saves years. I've gotten to recover fully from my stroke. I've gotten to climb mountains. I was at my dentist's office, and they take blood pressure there, and they told me my blood pressure was unusually high. So I went home and kinda blew that off as stress, but the next morning I wasn't feeling quite right, and they said you need to call your doctor. My final diagnosis was aortic stenosis. I was utterly shocked. Aortic stenosis is when the valve shuts down to a very small amount, and puts increased pressure on the heart itself. Then I had open heart surgery. They've said that I didn't have months, I had days or weeks. I think that I survived because I had the help of people who could deal with my many issues. My cardiologist is Amit Khera, here at UT Southwestern. This'll be my third Heart Walk. My second in Dallas. This year, I'm walking of course with my doctor, Amit Khera, and my husband Tom, my daughter. You see this large community of people coming together to support this needy cause. I have a full life, and I'm really grateful for that.