#276 - WE ARE ANDREA OGG LEADING AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE WITH A TRANSPLANTED HEART

We Are Superman

Imagine trying as hard as you can to run, bike, dance, or hike and yet always struggling to keep up with everyone else. Worse yet, getting told by coaches, PE teachers, even friends that you were just lazy, or worse yet, that you plain sucked? Andrea Ogg experienced that her whole life until she was 35 years old. Then she got the diagnosis that it wasn’t her, but a congenital heart condition called Left Ventricular Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy that prevented her heart from developing normally. So this ever-cheerful and funny woman found joy in other areas of her life. Until one day in August, 2017 her heart stopped, and she keeled over and died. She didn’t even realize what had happened to her as she clowned around with the paramedics in the ambulance until she was informed that the defibrillator that had been implanted in her chest had kicked in to restore her heart rhythm and save her life. However, her heart was now on borrowed time and in July, 2018 she received a heart transplant from a stranger. Andrea’s amazing attitude is to show her gratitude by giving her new heart the kind of life that a parent would want to give to their child. She lost 50 pounds and dedicated her life to health and fitness. She has continued to sing and dance in musical productions, took a photo safari to see African mountain gorillas, and in June ran her first half-marathon! She is focused on showing others how you can be resilient and see beyond the challenges in life. If you go to her web site, andreaogg.com, you’ll also find that she is hilarious in how she chronicled her journey up to and through her heart transplant. She also has some absolutely awesome recipes on there, too. As she sums up on her web site: “Heart transplant patients can not only lead completely normal lives. They can lead extraordinary ones.” I think you’ll enjoy this energetic chat with this amazing woman.
Andrea Ogg
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Bill Stahl
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