"Every beat of her heart is a blessing"
Chesterfield teen inspires others to lead stronger, longer lives
By Joan Tupponce CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Kim and Wayne Best's 16-year-old daughter, Jessica, is facing yet another surgery to replace a valve in her heart.

Walking more than three miles around Richmond International Raceway was a huge feat for Jessica Best. The 16-year-old Chesterfield resident suffers from tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect that causes her to feel tired and exhausted. The defect affects only nine-to-14 percent of babies born each year.

Jessica was one of almost 10,000 walkers who recently took part in The American Heart Association's 2006 Richmond Heart Walk. The event raised more than $750,000 for the organization.

"By sharing her experience with heart disease, Jessica hoped to motivate the participants at this year's Heart Walk to start loving their hearts," said Michelle Nostheide, Virginia communications director for the AHA. "To Jessica, every beat of her heart is a blessing. We can honor her courage by resolving to eat better, exercise more, quit smoking or make any personal lifestyle change we can to live stronger, longer lives."

When Jessica was first born, doctors were unaware of her heart defects, sending her home with her parents. Three days later, Jessica's mom noticed that she turned blue when she cried and that she slept continuously.

Jessica enjoys entertaining crowds at her church by singing and playing her guitar.

"We were told that this heart problem doesn't always show up at birth," explained Kim Best, Jessica's mom. "Tetralogy of Fallot is actually four defects of the heart compounded into one."

Doctors told the family they wanted to wait until Jessica was older before performing a cardiac catherization. But when Jessica was six months old, doctors had to perform the procedure. Two months later in 1991, Best had her first open heart surgery. During that surgery, her pulmonary valve was removed. "It was heart wrenching to watch her suffer," recalled Best.

After more than eight hours of surgery, the eight-month old was wheeled into an elevator. On the way to the pediatric intensive care unit, her heart rate and blood pressure bottomed out, and she was rushed back to the operating room for three more hours of surgery. On the fourth day after the surgery, Jessica started bleeding internally. Blood surrounded her heart and she stopped breathing. She was rushed back into the operating room.

"At this point, we didn't know what to expect," Best said. "It was touch-and-go for more than a week. It was tough."

Growing up, Jessica had trouble keeping up with her friends because of her lack of energy. Playing sports in school wasn't an option.

"She tried [playing them] but she just couldn't," Best said.

The family waited as long as they could before replacing the valve, in Jessica's heart (artificial valves only last about 10 years). But at the age of nine, Jessica was getting extremely tired. She had little or no energy.

"She would sleep every afternoon," Best recalled. "Doctors wanted to wait longer to put in the valve, but she couldn't wait any longer. The surgeon said if we did wait, Jessica would have to have a pacemaker."

In 1999, during her third open heart surgery, Jessica received a homograft pulmonary valve.

"It was truly an amazing surgery," Best said. "About eight days after she got home, she said she was so glad they did the surgery. She looked better and felt better."

Currently a sophomore at Richmond Christian School, Jessica sings in the chorus at school. In her spare time, she works at Brewster's Ice Cream. She also sings and plays her guitar at Countryside Christian Church, entertaining crowds that number up to 400.

"The youth pastor at church inspired Jessica to pick up the guitar," Best said. "She found that it came easily to her."

Now on the seventh year of her valve replacement, Jessica is beginning to exhaust easily. She knows that she will have to have surgery once again. But that doesn't keep the soft-spoken teen from doing what she can for herself and others.

"You have to think that things could be worse," observed Jessica.

Jessica's illness has taught her a lesson that many adults never learn.

"My heart condition has made me the person that I am," she said. "It has humbled me. I've learned not to take life for granted; that you have to live your days to the fullest. I will never let this get me down. I want to use my experiences to encourage others."