It's all about the HEART.

You wouldn't think that your heart would fail you at 33 would you?  Well my sister Krista's heart pretty much did.  

Krista was born with a heart defect and over the years it has gotten worse. 

It got so bad that she was having many complications and was on the verge of failure. 

So on Tuesday she had to have open heart surgery. 

They replaced her aortic valve and her aorta.  A poor piggy sacrificed its life my my sis. 

I will never look at bacon the same :)

She was in the ICU and now has been moved to a regular hospital room.  They said that she will be in the hospital for at least a week.  The heart surgeon said that at 2 weeks she will feel like she might live, at 4 weeks she will want to live and 6 weeks she will feel like she did right before surgery...so like crap.

Then she will start to get better. 

It was very hard when we first saw her in the ICU.  She had 10 different pumps, and so many different tubes.  She had tubes coming out of her neck, mouth, hands, arms...you name it.  

The hardest part is, is that Krista knew she had a heart defect and that one day she would have to have heart surgery.  Of course as a child they told her that it most likely wouldn't be till she was in her 50's or 60's.  Well Krista started smoking at age 16.  She tried to stop many times, but never was successful. 

By smoking she lost 20-30 years of a hearts longevity.  She will have to have this surgery in another 10 years to replace the "pig parts".  If she decides to start smoking again, it will be 5 years.

Last night through the tears she told us.  "If any of you start smoking, I am going to kick your butts". 

I am praying that she has really decided smoking is not worth it. 

When they pulled the respirator out of her mouth the nurse said that the tube was getting clogged.  There was over 16 inches of black tar sucked out of her lungs from smoking.  

After seeing what my sister is going through I urge anyone who is smoking to seek to quit....your life seriously is being cut in half.  

This is I guess my PSA. :)

XOXO