Potholes is a parallel journey into my life and the physical and emotional heartbreaks that enabled me to become the person I am today. It exposes my family, friends, and me openly in order to help others. Through this journey I was brought to my knees and forced to realize that everything I have worked for in my life could have been gone in an instant, what I thought I had figured out was a facade, and the path I thought I so carefully planned for my future was not in my control. My life has taken on a new direction and thanks to the miracle of transplant surgery, the generosity of a donor family, and the dedicated staff who saw me through the roughest journey of my life; I learned why I was meant to be here today. The heart is the vitality of life. From the moment it begins beating in-utero, it works tirelessly nurturing the mind, body, spirit, and soul. If it ceases to function, we in turn perish. When the heart is not healthy either physically or emotionally, thriving is difficult, if not impossible. An ailing heart learns to compensate for its inadequacies or sacrifice other functions in order to survive. As you read, may your life be enriched through mine? I would never wish my experience on any other person; I wouldn't trade my life for anything."