Her Story
About Nefertari
My career in patient advocacy began from a deeply personal place. At age 26, while 9 months pregnant, I suffered a massive heart attack that damaged the entire apex, the bottom of my heart, leaving me with congestive heart failure. This traumatic experience transformed my life's direction. When I submitted my story, several writers picked it up, and one writer told me I had the talent to write, which led me to start blogging for Healthline and other medical communities. Before my heart attack, I had been a paraprofessional working with handicapped preschoolers for 11 years, and I was in school finishing my degree in education as a married mother of five. Now, with 16 years in the industry of patient advocacy and lived experience, I serve as a lived experience patient advisor for the American Heart Association and sit on the board of a biochemistry company in the San Francisco area. My work includes public speaking, copywriting for smaller publications, and I've had a podcasting network for several years. I've been honored with a 26-foot painting of my face that says 'heart failure survivor' displayed at the biochemistry company, and I've testified for the CDC. Dr. Richard Besser, who was the acting CDC director, even came to my home to interview me for World News Tonight. Through all of this, I've remained stable with my heart condition, and I'm thankful for that.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nefertari
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my mother. She was very kind and giving. She had a bad back and bad lungs herself, but she took care of disabled adults until the day one passed away, and the other - she passed away before the young lady did. My heart attack actually happened a year after she had her massive stroke, so I do have a little bit of the broken heart syndrome, which you can actually see in a CAT scan of the heart. My mother's example of service and giving, even while dealing with her own health challenges, shaped who I am and the work I do today.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
To remember that when you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. My industry is a service industry, and serving others is always very therapeutic. It's a good way for someone with health conditions, such as myself, to kind of take my mind off of your own and help someone else. So, that would be my advice. Just do what you love, and if you love helping others, advocacy can definitely be fulfilling for you.
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