2026 Go Red for Women Class of Survivors: Emilee Sparks

While rushing to class, high school senior Emilee Sparks collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest. CPR-certified school nurses helped her regain consciousness quickly. But over the next few months, the heart condition she was born with worsened, and at 17, she had a heart transplant. Now, she shares her story to let other young patients know they aren’t alone.

As a high school senior, Emilee Sparks already had a lifetime of experience trying to hide her two heart conditions. She had Ebsteins Anomaly, a rare congenital heart defect. She also had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic condition she shares with her mother that thickens and stiffens the heart muscle making it harder to pump blood.

Never wanting to be treated differently from her peers, she only told a few close friends about her health problems. She also found ways to cope and keep up with her friends.

But in November 2024 as she was running late to class, she skipped her usual rest break and rushed up a long flight of stairs.

“I remember my legs started to go numb,” she said, “and telling myself that I would have time to get to class and that I would be fine.”

She made it to the top of the stairs, but she started to lose her hearing and vision. Then she collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest.

Her memories are fuzzy about what happened next, but the school’s cameras captured everything. Security guards found her. Students crowded the halls. School nurses rushed to her. She regained consciousness after one round of CPR.

Although she survived, she endured the “worst eight months of my life,” she said.

“It was the greatest mental struggle I’ve almost ever gone through, because I still had to show up and go to school,” she said. “I had panic attacks almost every day because I would walk past that spot and be instantly triggered and get flashbacks of falling. Even to this day, I still think about it a lot, especially nearing the one-month and one-year mark. I think about how much has changed.”

As her condition worsened, her cardiologist ordered a stress test and other evaluations that made it clear Emilee needed a heart transplant. The transplant team allowed her to wait until graduation so she could enjoy that milestone. Then in June 2025, she started the heart transplant evaluation process, which moved quickly, and on July 4 she received a new heart.

She felt relief going into the procedure, but recovery was harder than she expected. She had to work to increase her endurance while even doing simple things like standing in the shower.

She credits family and friends as motivation for her to get stronger every day. She is especially grateful for the guidance of her mom, Natasha, who also had a heart transplant.

“I think it definitely does bring us closer,” Emilee said. “We share a really good mother-daughter bond, but we’re also just very close with our medical histories. We both have had a heart transplant. She’s kind of like my built-in best friend.”

Emilee also works to inspire others with heart conditions and let them know they aren’t alone.

“After my cardiac arrest, it made me honestly regret not telling my friends, which isn’t fair to them because they care about me,” she said. “My message to other women my age is just be yourself if you do have a heart condition or any chronic illness, just to be open about it with your friends. Because your friends are there to help you and encourage you and love you.”

Now 18, Emilee is grateful for her second chance. She is continuing to improve her physical health and looks forward to college, traveling and meeting new goals.

“I’m definitely at this point very happy I went through with the heart transplant,” she said. “I know I’m grateful for the struggles that I had because they taught me perseverance. It does get better. Sometimes you have to get through the storm before you see the sun.”