“It will be my one-year anniversary on June 6, which is my father’s birthday,” says Laurie Grand Pre, a heart transplant recipient. “He passed away at the same age that I got my heart. I have a family history of cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart. I had three open-heart surgeries before getting the call that UCLA Health had a heart for me. I wanted to do the Snoopy dog dance. I have so much gratitude for all the people who were involved in this, from the person cleaning the floors to my doctors. There’s so much joy, I don’t think it can fit into one person’s heart.”

Tags: Cardiology, cardiomyopathy, Events, featured, Heart Failure Symposium, heart transplant, open heart surgeries, patient story, Surgery, Transplant