Imagine you have just been told the most devastating news anyone can hear; you only have a few years left to live. What would you do and how would you react?

Sophomore Emily Ostrom had this same experience at the beginning of March earlier last year. She noticed her hands and feet were always unusually cold, so she scheduled a doctor’s appointment that would lead to reveal that she had Raynaud’s disease. Raynaud’s is a rare condition that causes blood vessels to narrow in certain conditions. She was sent up to Riley Children’s Hospital to get more tests done and in the process, the specialist discovered a heart murmur. Further testing on her heart led to a shocking discovery.

“I had a hole in my heart that was bigger than the size of a quarter and I had a vein on the wrong side of my heart so they had to fix that,” Ostrom said.

Without open heart surgery, Ostrom’s life expectancy would be to age 20, so her only viable option was to have the surgery. Though it was risky, the surgery turned out successful and she has been able to live her normal life with as much activity as she wants. In the future, Ostrom plans on traveling the world to fulfill her curiosity about her Italian roots. In the meantime though, high school sports are the next step.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m back to normal. I’ve been running. I’m considering doing cross country next year as a sport.” Ostrom said.

Watch out Lady O’s, this prospective cross country runner is ready for action. Ostrom can not wait to fill her long life with nothing but adventure thanks to her newly fixed heart.