My name is Grace Davitt. I am 29 years old and I was born with a rare congenital heart defect (CHD) known as Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (CCTGA or L-TGA) – or in layman’s terms my heart’s ventricles and their attached valves are reversed: the stronger left ventricle pumps blood to the lungs (normally pumps blood to the entire body) and the weaker right ventricle pumps blood to the entire body (normally pumps blood to the lungs). I also have the body’s weakest valve—the tricuspid valve—serving as the strongest valve, the mitral valve.
In the same breath, my arteries are reversed, so the heart actually “corrects” the abnormal development, which gives it its name “congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries.”
I have been pacemaker dependent since two and a half years old and although the severity of my symptoms and associated heart defects have been both relatively stable and monitored throughout life – under the long term care of my paediatric cardiologist Dr. Paul Oslizlok in CHI, Crumlin and Professor Kevin Walsh, Consultant Cardiologist in the Mater Hospital, Dublin since 19 years old – I do have – due to the anatomy of my heart – poor heart function but luckily this has not stopped me from lightly exercising and living an active life.
This years 2024 Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon will be our first marathon to take part in and after some deliberation I decided I’d go for it with my Mam, Lorraine, by my side. It’s an event I’ve wanted to participate in for some time but for one reason or another I’ve always said “next year”. 2024 is the year, and when I saw this year’s theme is all about the Heart, I took it as a sign that I was meant to do it this year. Naturally, we are fundraising for Heart Children – a long-standing self-funded charity who provide supports and services to children and adults with congenital heart disease. We’re really looking forward to taking part in our first mini marathon and honouring all people with CHD – one beat, one step, walk, trot, jog at a time!
