Living Beyond Expectations: A Journey of Resilience Against Cancer and Heart Disease
Key Takeaways:
- Dawn Mussallem, despite a vigorous plant-based lifestyle and physical activity, battled stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and heart issues, displaying incredible resilience and determination.
- Despite her health crises, Mussallem maintained a steadfast goal of longevity and finished her medical school, demonstrating her desire to serve others.
- Mussallem’s heart condition, further complicated by her chemotherapy, led her to need a heart transplant, which, after 14 months on the list, she successfully received.
- Post-transplant, Mussallem returned to her active lifestyle, involving running, yoga, and strength training, and completed several athletic achievements including a marathon.
- Her life journey serves as a powerful testament to the human spirit’s resilience and the importance of self-care for vitality.
Throughout her early life, Dawn Mussallem envisioned turning 100 years old, dreaming her face would one day grace a Smucker’s jar. This popular tradition, meant to honor people who reach the century milestone, fueled her commitment to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.
Committing to a Healthy Lifestyle
She adhered to a plant-based diet, traded sugary snacks and drinks for healthier options, and stayed physically active, thereby embracing gymnastics and training progressively on the weekends. “I aim to be the world’s oldest woman,” Mussallem articulates her life-long aspiration. This vision also intertwined with her career goal to become a doctor.
The Unexpected Hurdle
However, three months into her medical school journey, Mussallem faced an unexpected health crisis. After collapsing while climbing stairs, she was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Even with the harsh reality of being in the final stage of cancer, she clung to her dream of longevity, enduring chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and radiation therapy with unwavering determination.
The Underlying Danger
In a turn of events, Mussallem, who portrayed extraordinary resilience through her treatments without even feeling sick, was unaware of the damage that had been surreptitiously inflicted on her heart by the chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Dealing with Advanced Heart Failure
Mussallem fell into a state of cardiogenic shock after pregnancy. Her heart couldn’t supply enough blood and oxygen to her brain and vital organs, leading to a diagnosis of advanced heart failure. Despite the odds and medical advice to quit schooling, Mussallem stood resolute. She said, “I want to serve others, and this gives me the ability to focus my energy on medical school.”
Subsequent Struggles
After successfully controlling her heart condition with medication and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), she completed her medical school. Nonetheless, despite managing her health and graduating from med school, Mussallem faced another heart-wrenching obstacle when her husband passed away due to cardiac arrest.
Overcoming the Odds
Mussallem’s own heart condition worsened eight years later, making her switch her practice to a breast cancer clinic. She eventually ended up on a heart transplant list and after 14 months, a match was found. The much-needed heart transplant surgery succeeded and her recovery went smoothly. She discovered sensations hitherto unknown with her healthier heart, saying, “I felt warm for the first time.”
Return to Fitness
With improved health and her 100th birthday goal revitalized, she rushed back to fulfill her athletic pursuits. She resumed her running routine, integrated yoga for flexibility, and light weights for strength training. “My life had been on hold for 18 years,” she recounted, explaining her pent-up energy.
Accomplishing Great Feats
Three months post-transplant, she ran a 5K, climbed Camelback Mountain in Arizona a month later, and completed a marathon on her transplant’s one-year anniversary. She likened her marathon to her life—the pursuit of vitality through consistent self-care. Now at 48, residing in Jacksonville, Florida, she continues striving for her dream to appear on a Smucker’s jar.
Her mother, Christine Stahurski, intensely agrees. She reflects, “Her strength, her will, and her unyielding spirit played into her survival. I’m exceedingly grateful for her indomitable spirit.”
Her story serves as a potent reminder of the human spirit’s resilience, showcasing an inspiring journey of perseverance and determination.
Article was compiled using multiple sources of information.
