Meghan
Meghan
Adventurer, leading advocate and new mom.
Meghan has lived with Fontan circulation for over 29 years, but she hasn’t let it slow her down yet. Since she was a little girl, exercising and seeking adventure has been her self-proclaimed “secret weapon” for keeping her heart as healthy as possible. From competitive dance and gymnastics in her younger years, to now an avid runner in her 30’s, Meghan doesn’t take a single day and any of life’s adventures for granted.
Meghan was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). She describes living with “half a heart” and Fontan circulation as a constant battle of trying to balance realism and hope—a reality that has impacted every corner of her life. For Meghan, it’s not just about the countless doctor's appointments, surgical interventions, or additional medications… it’s about the feeling of frustration and defeat when she tires and can’t keep up with her friends.
Meghan is an active advocate in the single ventricle community, serving in a leadership role with the Sisters by Heart organization. Her heart defect also influenced her career choice to work in the pharmaceutical industry. Meghan’s most rewarding role yet though is new mother to a baby girl. Growing up she never imagined getting married and starting a family and now is fiercely committed to postponing-late-stage Fontan complications to be around as long as possible for her husband and daughter.
For Meghan, she hopes that a treatment option could mean more time for special memories with her family, but in the near-term, anything to empower her to keep up with her daughter more easily and tackle life’s daily demands would be incredibly meaningful to her. In Meghan’s own words, “the question marks that exist about my future are haunting knowing that I don’t have any treatment option, especially now that I have other people I need to live for.”
As a Face of Fontan, Meghan hopes to convey that medical innovation for the single ventricle community is about more than a positive shift in physical health—it’s about improving overall quality of life. She considers her ultimate “why?” to be helping improve patients’ lives in any way she can.