Change of Heart: My Journey of Transplantation, Revelation & Transformation - Hardcover

by Kristy Sidlar (Author), Elizabeth Ann Atkins (Author)

​​She was loving her life as a healthy, young professional and fitness instructor.

But one day while teaching an aerobics class, she collapsed-and spiraled into a life-threatening health crisis.Kristy Sidlar needed a new heart.Now, in her gripping memoir, Change of Heart: My Journey of Transplantation, Revelation & Transformation, she provides fascinating and inspiring insight into her extraordinary survival story that chronicles her frightening heart failure-and her triumph over what could have ended her vibrant life far too early.In engaging vignettes, Kristy takes you on an intimate journey as her failing health prompts doctors to put her on the heart transplant list. Then, miraculously, a donor heart becomes available. Page by page, Kristy takes you through her death-defying experience as she courageously-and optimistically-endures surgery and recovery.Then she embarks on a new life that's so healthy and energetic, she's training for a triathlon.While Kristy shares her story in a way that sparkles with her humorous, upbeat personality, she also introduces you to her Wellness Widget, a tool that she created for anyone wanting to cultivate wellness across multiple dimensions of their lives.This book makes you laugh, cry, and ponder deep questions about living and dying, while inspiring you to cherish your life and loved ones as never before. Thanks to an organ donor family that was grieving the loss of their loved one, Kristy explores the power of gratitude and the inexpressible joy that the greatest gift of life can bring.Kristy is on a mission to use her remarkable survival story as a heart transplant recipient to encourage men and women everywhere to make overall wellness a priority. She advocates for heart health, especially for women, as a long-time volunteer and board member for the American Heart Association. And she's a board member for Project Beautiful - Inside and Out.Her career in the staffing and recruiting industry has enabled her to live and work in Singapore, and travel the world. A Michigan native, Kristy has a Bachelor of Arts from Hope College. She and her husband, Dave, enjoy spending time in Northern California.Kristy's hobbies include photography, fitness, card-making, and driving and admiring exotic and classic cars. After completing three 5K races since her surgery, she's currently training for a triathlon.