Adult CHD Survivors Finding Love

Adult CHD Survivors Finding Love

Lauren Bednarz is 26 years old. She was born with a congenital heart defect called tricuspid atresia and hypoplastic right ventricle or simply put “half a heart.” She has had two open heart surgeries with the last one being the Fontan — 24 years ago! She is married to an amazing man named Chris who is 29 years old. They met by chance through Lauren’s father back in November 2008. They dated for three years before marrying on December 21, 2011 in a small courthouse ceremony. In the 2 1/2 years they have been married, they have moved cross country once, soon to be twice. They have dealt with many medical issues concerning Lauren’s health, yet their life is full of so many “normal” couple experiences, too. They feel blessed to have each other. Chris is an amazing husband. Congenital heart defects do not have to stand in the way of true love.

Chris Bednarz is 29 years old and works as an engineer at the well known Intel company. He married Lauren on December 21, 2011 in Southeast Michigan before moving to Northern California for his Intel job. His number one priority is Lauren’s health and is even relocating for her to be closer to better medical care.

Jeni Busta was born in 1985 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). She had the Norwood Procedure at 1 day of age and the Fontan Procedure at 17 months of age. She received a pacemaker when she was 3 years old and has had numerous pacemaker replacements and heart catheterizations since then. She is happily married to Nick Busta, whom she met in an America Online chat room when they were just 14 years old. They were wed 7 years later in Oxnard, California, and will be celebrating their 7-year anniversary on July 14, 2014.

Nick Busta is a middle school teacher at a private Christian school. An avid endurance athlete, he is a two-time Ironman triathlon finisher. He married Jeni on July 14^th, 2007 in Oxnard, California. In his spare time, he has started a video blog entitled “Loving a Broken Heart,” which he hopes will provide support and encouragement for spouses of CHD warriors.

Links Mentioned in our Show:

http://specialheartbigdreams.wordpress.com (Lauren’s Blog)

http://lovingabrokenheart.wordpress.com/type/video/ (Nick’s Video Blog)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gi7T1VfHdk (Trailer to Documentary Starring Jeni Busta)

http://shelterfish.com/ (this is the company that produced Journey’s Beginning — the documentary starring Jeni Busta — you can buy the documentary here)