Karen M. Rosner, Transplant Recipient

My parents were told I would not see my first birthday, the doctors were wrong...

I was born with a very serious heart defect. It is known as transposition of the great vessels with a hole in the septum. My parents were told I would not see my first birthday, the doctors were wrong. I had 6 open heart surgeries, two strokes, two bouts of bacteria endocarditis, back surgery, seven pacemakers, and two defibrillators. In between all that I had a baby that was born nine weeks premature. Then I had the biggest surgery of all for me and that was my heart transplant. I received my gift of life in April of 2006. The recovery from that surgery was tough but I got through it. It has been 18 years since my transplant. I have done so much in those 18 years. I was able to see my son graduate from high school and see the man he has become. I went skydiving, repelled off a 40-story building in Hawaii, I enjoyed a hot air balloon ride. I just recently competed in the Transplant games in Birmingham, AL. I may not have won a medal at the games but I was able to complete the 5k in 1 hour and 3 minutes (that was unheard prior to my transplant). I was also able to compete in my very first sporting event, pickleball. I may have come in 4^th but I am happy with that since it was my first competition. I have written a book, My 12 Hours Aren’t Up Yet. It was published on July 11, 2023, and it has been doing well. I started my business as a personal financial to empower women 40+ to take control of their finances and to get out of debt quickly.

I am so grateful for my donor and her family. I have spoken to my donor’s sisters and they both told me “the heart went to the right person”. I promised them that I would take care of the heart and that I will live life to the fullest and to honor their sister always. I have kept that promise. There are many more adventures for me.