Growing up, I shared a wonderful bond with my dad, Bert Harvey Veen. My childhood wasn’t always easy. I was the tallest in my class, I wore glasses because I had poor vision and had very long limbs.
But no matter whether I had a good day or a terrible one, my dad would ask me all about it and listen to my every word. My dad passed away on September 7, 2010, at the age of 55. He had always been healthy, but a few days before his death, he suffered a medical emergency.
He spent several days intubated in hospital, but sadly, it was too late. He had suffered an aortic dissection. Although he underwent open-heart surgery in a bid to save him, the tear extended from his heart all the way down to his legs.
Since we lost our dad, my sisters Whitney, Jessica and I have always tried to make him proud and to honor him in every way possible. I now have two young children of my own, and I named my daughter, Harvey, after him. I would give anything for my children to have met their grandad.
While I was pregnant with Harvey in 2023, I started experiencing shortness of breath and often felt faint, dizzy and lightheaded. Naturally, I brought these symptoms up to my OB-GYN and she encouraged me to see my primary care doctor. So, I scheduled an appointment, and because of my family history of aortic dissections, I was then referred to a cardiologist and a geneticist.
I was only a few months pregnant and in my early thirties, but everything seemed to happen so quickly. I was scheduled for an echocardiogram two weeks later, and that showed that my aorta was dilated. As a result, when I saw the geneticist, we decided to move forward with testing for connective tissue disorders.
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