• I was born with a broken heart. Literally. It hadn't formed completely while I was 'in the womb' so there was the tiniest hole in it when I was born. I had to get surgery before I was even a year old. It was by a fameous sergeon in a special childrens hospital. (In Oakland, I think.) According to my mom, the doctors actually used safety pins to pull my skin together before they could do stitches. I had a bright red scar on my chest for a few months, but it faded to a pale silvery-white before I was three. Even though I got the surgery, I was depressingly underweight till I was about six. I'm still terminally ten pounds light, even today.

    If I hadn't gotten the surgery, I might have died. But then again, I could have lived. Who knows.