Senior Abby Bielecki scheduled an EKG appointment at Prospect as a precautionary action however was not able to go due to transportation issues.Thinking nothing of it Abby blew off her appointment and went on with her day ignoring the voicemail she got from the people running the Ekg, until one of the workers pulled her out of class and possibly saved her life.

 “I know it’s maybe a pain because it’s going to take time out of your day but the 10 minutes it takes could save your life,” said Abby.

Abby’s Ekg detected an atrial septal defect, a birth defect in which  you have a hole in your heart which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes in the future. After finding out this tragic news, Abby was then informed by a cardiologist that she would need open heart surgery.

After the Ekg, Abby’s mom received a phone call saying Abby had an irregular heart beat. Abby’s mom also had an irregular heart beat when she was young, but grew out of it. 

“I didn’t really think anything of it, I thought it would be something little,” said Abby.

A week later Abby received an Echocardiogram at Prospect in the athletic training office.  

After the echocardiogram, it was said thatAbby’s heart was enlarged and recommended and that they should see a cardiologist.

 Abby’s parents sat her down and told her it would all be okay and she had nothing to worry about.

Abby then went to the cardiologist to see if the Ekg at Prospect was not a false test. The cardiologist did another Ekg and echocardiogram. When the testing came back, the doctor told her that she had an atrial septal defect and the Ekg at Prospect saved her life.

The doctors told Abby she had two options… She could get a catheter or undergo heart surgery. After speaking with another cardiologist, they determined open heart surgery was the best option.

“Going into it I think the scariest part was  since I had just turned 18 the week of my surgery I had to sign off all the papers and I had to choose a power of attorney just in case anything were to happen so I think that’s when I got really scared just like realizing everything was real and anything could happen,” said Abby. 

Abby had many friends try to comfort her.

“My friends were just trying to be there for me and they didn’t know how to be, because they don’t know, I mean no one knows what you’re going through because we’re all so young,”Abby stated.

A few weeks before her surgery Abby sat down with her grandma who had also had heart surgery and talked about the surgery and how she was feeling.

After the 3 to 4 hour long surgery Abby stayed in the ICU Friday and was able to leave the hospital by Sunday. When she got home she took two weeks off school to rest on her couch while friends and family visited her.

“I felt more uncomfortable because sleeping was hard but I wasn’t really feeling much pain,” said Abby.

Once she returned to school she felt more shooting pains as she was being more physical. 

Though this journey was hard for a young girl, Abby was glad she found the issue before it was too late.

“I learned that honestly everything does happen for a reason, and even if you don’t know that reason like right away there’s definitely a reason at the end and i’m very thankful that I was reminded to go to the Ekg because if I didn’t, my life would be so much different,” said Abby.