Steven Taibbi was born with a hole in his heart and has earned a stunning distinction; one he never asked for. Operated on right after birth, by the age of six he became the first person to live through two open hearts for ASD repair. Throughout his life he was told repeatedly that he had maybe only a year to live. He marched right past every expiration date foisted upon him to live a personally and professionally successful life with his own television production company and a happy marriage.
The book he wrote to help others going through medical crisis, Grateful Guilt: Living in the Shadow of My Heart, will illuminate more details of this allegedly impossible journey.
In this first episode, Steven talks about his life up until his first heart transplant including what, after a long life of triumph over triumph with his heart condition, finally got him to the point of needed a new heart. He discusses the effect all of this had on his mother and how that affected him as well causing a harmful strain on his parents’ marriage. As you listen to him talk about his out of body experience, you may find yourself believing things you once thought impossible.
As one of the world experts on conquering unlikely survival diagnoses, he offers some invaluable tips for pulling through a hospital stay. It would be natural to recognize that Steven himself had something to do with his own survival. Take a look at Steven talking about all this to see how robust and enthusiastic he is about his life.
Don’t touch that dial as they used to say in the beginning days of television, because Steven’s second Love Letters Live episode where he will talk about meeting the donor’s family and the inescapable complexity of that relationship will be us soon.