Meet Your Moderators: Tina Marie Marsden

Welcome to the Heart-Failure.net Meet Your Moderators series! These articles are intended to help our community members better know the people who moderate on our various channels. Heart failure plays a different role in each of our moderators' lives, but our community serves as a place for all to connect and share with one another.

We are beyond grateful for the work these individuals put in to help make this the dynamic and supportive community that it is. We hope you enjoy reading their responses to our questions and learning a bit more about what drives them to help!

Interview with Tina

What role does heart failure play in your life?

Heart failure plays a dominant role in my life. I was diagnosed with pregnancy-induced heart failure (PPCM) at the age of 28; so I had no say so in the matter. Fast forward, I have been living with a defibrillator for 13+ years, and an LVAD for the last 9 1/2 years. The effects that heart failure has had on my quality of life range from 0 to 100! I'm definitely grateful for the little things!

Why did you decide to become a moderator for Heart-Failure.net?

I've developed a passion for patient advocacy. I love having the opportunity to connect with others, share experiences, and be a part of a community of support. Moderating for Hear-Failure.net is a valuable and needed platform for all of us.

What's been your favorite part of being a moderator for Heart-Failure.net?

My favorite part of moderating is connecting with members to offer genuine support. Support comes in many ways on Heart-Failure.net: articles, private messaging, and social media engagement. This is a true platform for support.

What has your support system been like throughout your journey as a patient or caregiver?

My support system has fluctuated throughout my journey with heart failure. Over time I've learned that diagnosis affects more than just the patient. In a sense, everyone close to me has received their own diagnosis which has impacted my support.

Learning and understanding that there's a process to being a patient have helped me help my support team. As we've each have come to terms with heart failure and what it may mean for us individually, it's helped us become stronger as a team (or support system).

Anything else you want to share with our Heart-Failure.net community members?

Yes, this is just the beginning. Although heart failure may be what connected us it's also what will make us stronger through the positive connections, and support we build in this community. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your journey.

Contribution to Heart-Failure.net

Tina has been contributing to our community for over a year. Here are a few of the articles she has shared with us:

Pretty Lady Chronicles: I Have Pregnancy Induced Heart Failure (Part 1)
Pretty Lady Chronicles: Managing Summer with Heart Failure
Pretty Lady Chronicles: Being a Patient Is a Process (Part 1)
Pretty Lady Chronicles: 392 Beats Per Minute Survivor (Part 3)
Pretty Lady Chronicles: Invisible Disability Chronicle #1,000,001

To read all of Tina's articles and read all of her Pretty Lady Chronicles about living with peripartum cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure, click here.

Thank you

We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank YOU, the person reading this. While we no doubt have an amazing team here at Heart-Failure.net, it's your consistent presence and engagement that keep the momentum going. Without you, there wouldn't be much to moderate and we surely wouldn't learn as much as we do. Thank you!

As always, we'd love to hear from you. What brings you to our community? What has your heart failure journey looked like? Feel free to share with us by posting on our site's stories and forums sections.