By Gina Long
Gina Yells at Something
Many in my social circle have stated that 2026 has been a crazy year, and I nod along sympathetically. My 2026 story may top them all.
Over the last two years, I was experiencing shortness of breath, a pounding heartbeat while climbing stairs, and fatigue. I chalked it up to being out of shape and having a lot of birthdays. Last summer, my family physician found that I had a serious murmur, prompting a quick referral to a cardiologist. A few tests later, I was told that I have a congenital heart defect. My aorta is smaller than normal, and the valve was failing. I was quickly scheduled for surgery at St. Francis in Wichita at the end of January. I elected to have a fully mechanical valve installed instead of a bioprosthetic valve because of my age.
The surgery did not go as planned. While in the recovery room, my blood pressure crashed and I spent nearly two days on life support. The medical team planned to life-flight me to Kansas City on Monday, Feb. 2, but I woke up and seemed fine except for a high heart rate and blood pressure.
Further testing found that one of the valve leaflets was stuck, leaving me at risk for valve failure and stroke. The team thought it was a blood clot and treated me with anticoagulants. The leaflet refused to budge, so four days later I was life-flighted to St. Luke’s in Kansas City for a higher level of care.
After spending the Super Bowl weekend in the hospital, I was taken in for a Monday test and woke up five hours later with a brand-new prosthetic valve, making it my fourth surgery and second sternotomy in 11 days. My heart rate was still high, so I spent another week in the hospital before the doctors determined cardiac stress as the cause, predicting that my heart rate would settle down in four to six weeks.
I came home and spent the first two weeks sleeping in a chair and trying to walk more than 30 seconds at a time. Each week I added more time to my walking, and soon I was graduating from cardiac rehabilitation. You can find me at the YMCA walking the track for 30 minutes five times each week.
Other than taking daily medication and having weekly blood tests to make sure that the anticoagulant is at a therapeutic level, my life is settling back into a routine. Fatigue hits fast and hard now, so I plan time to rest.
I purchased a Samsung Wear smartwatch to track my heart rate, water intake, and exercise, and it reminds me when I need to take medication.
My next project is to start a foundation so that young people can access early detection of congenital heart problems, so they’re not misdiagnosed as “unathletic” and “out of shape.” Noninvasive tests are wonderful leaps in technology, but combined with doctor’s office visit costs, they can be out of financial reach for those with no insurance or high deductibles.
Life can turn on a single heartbeat, throwing us into frightening places we never saw coming. Today, when I hear the steady click in my chest and track my walks on the YMCA track, I am reminded that every single day is an unearned gift. The road out of 2026 is bright, and I am ready to help others find their way toward healing and hope.
Gina Long is the co-founder of The Hutchinson Tribune, a reference librarian, a Smallville Festival organizer, and a history nerd.