When my mom was in labor, doctors thought I might be tangled in the umbilical cord because my heart rate would plummet and then stabilize. I was delivered by emergency C-section, and doctors soon realized that I had congenital heart defects. Still, I thought I'd adjusted well — until my heart stopped on the field. Even when I started breathing on my own, doctors thought I might need to go to a nursing home rather than a rehab facility because I was still so frail. AdvertisementTIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston was the only in-patient rehab hospital that would take me because my needs were so intensive.

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Persons: Mac Kelso, Mac, Doctors, — Dr, Nikola Dragojlovic —, TIRR, Hermann, I've, — Organizations: Service, Business, Louisiana Tech University Locations: Oregon, Louisiana, Colorado, Houston, TIRR