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Go Red for Women luncheon to feature Tulsa teacher’s amazing story

TULSA — A Tulsa teacher who learned almost by accident that she faced imminent death due to heart disease will be one of the keynote speakers at the American Heart Association’s annual Go Red for Women luncheon in Tulsa Friday.

Krystal Rogers tells KRMG she had felt lethargic and suffered from migraines for months before she finally went to an urgent care facility.

[Krystal Rogers tells her story to KRMG's Russell Mills]

The doctor told her he was going to send her to an emergency room to get scans of her head and neck, but the bottom of the scan captured part of her heart.

“The doctor came in and said ‘your head and neck scan came in great, we don’t see anything - but what we did find is a heart aneurysm, a very large one,” Rogers told KRMG Thursday.

She was told that had she not sought help, she may well have died within three months.

Five days later, she had open heart surgery at the Oklahoma Heart Institute, where they also discovered she had a leaky valve (since replaced by a mechanical valve) and a hole in her heart.

Her younger sister also learned subsequently that she had the same congenital heart defects.

Rogers says it all feels miraculous to her, “because when I did an initial CT scan of my brain and neck, that’s all they were looking at, and the person doing the scan clipped the top of my heart, and found my very large aneurysm.”

She had no prior health issues, and no family history of heart disease.

She’s back to teaching and raising her three sons, and wants to share her story with other women - as well as offer some advice:

“Listen to people around you, and your body, and if you need to go to the doctor, go. Of course, don’t be fearful, but be proactive.”

The Go Red for Women luncheon is Friday, May 10 at the Hyatt Regency downtown.

The other keynote speaker is Jill Donovan, founder of Rustic Cuff.

Doors open at 10:00 a.m. for registration, health screenings, a silent auction, sponsor booths and giveaways.

Lunch will be served at 11:30, the event is scheduled to conclude at 1:00 p.m.

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