Monicka entered the world fighting. Born a “blue baby” on March 28, 1980, her parents soon learned she had transposition of the great arteries — a congenital heart defect in which the heart’s major vessels are reversed. The very next day, doctors performed what they called the Blalock-handling procedure — known today as the Blalock-Taussig shunt — a surgery that creates a pathway for blood to flow from a major artery to the lungs, helping babies get the oxygen they need to survive until further surgery.

The shunt was expected to last two years, but after just two months, Monicka’s heart began to struggle again. Instead of the more common Mustard procedure, her surgical team decided to perform a new and innovative operation called the Schumacher repair — and Monicka became the first patient in her region, possibly the country, to undergo it.

On June 11, 1980, she spent nine hours in surgery. Her heart stopped for 45 minutes before doctors were finally able to restart it. After 56 long days in the hospital — and even a collapsed lung just days after surgery — Monicka fought her way through. Her strength and the medical team’s groundbreaking work were later featured in a magazine by the Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.

For many years, Monicka’s repaired heart served her well. But at 18, she began experiencing severe heart rate drops — from 45 to 28 beats per minute within minutes — and received her first pacemaker in March 1998. Since then, she’s had several replacements and continues to manage arrhythmias and dilated cardiomyopathy.

Today, Monicka remains resilient in the face of every challenge. Her journey — from a pioneering heart surgery in infancy to an adult living with complex heart conditions — is a powerful reminder that warriors aren’t defined by what their hearts can’t do, but by how fiercely they keep going.