“But there are still times, I think about how fragile life is,” she said. “You
tend to think more about your own mortality after an experience like that.”
Only a few months after recovering from her life-changing ordeal,
D’Souza-Siebert knew she wanted to do something to help others.
“I wanted to make people aware of what this condition is and how it
can happen,” she said. “And that even young, seemingly healthy women
can have a heart attack.”
She volunteered to work with Go Red for Women, an initiative of
the American Heart Association, and was chosen as one of 10 women
who shared their stories at various venues to inspire others and increase
awareness. She also helps with SCAD research fundraisers.
“The medical community knows more about SCAD than even just six
years ago - a lot of that due to a man in Arizona who started a foundation
to raise money for SCAD research at the Mayo Clinic after his wife died
of the condition,” D’Souza-Siebert said.
Now 35, she works at her own pace to help organizations with
mission-driven work through her own nonprofit resource development
consulting company, Gladiator Consulting. This allows her to make her
own hours, control her stress level, and be available to take her children
to and from school.
“Someone said to me: ‘You can’t be there for others if you don’t take
of yourself,’” she said. “That made me realize I had to make my health a
priority – and look for that balance in my life.”
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