We were lucky to catch up with Anna Jaworski recently and have shared our conversation below.
Anna, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
When I was a little girl, in the 1970s, I remember going to school and all the children looked just like me. When I was 8 or 9 years old, I came home from school declaring to my mother, “I know what I want to do when I grow up.” The teacher had shown a movie about children with special needs. At the time, there were no children with special needs in my school, but that changed the next year.
I don’t think it was the movie that helped me find my purpose. I think my purpose was always locked away inside me, but I think that movie helped unlock that part of me–the part that wanted to make a difference and who believed I could.
My dream, in high school, was to become a special education teacher. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to teach the blind or the deaf. A year in the talented-and-gifted program was the perfect vehicle for me to find out what I felt called to do. It wasn’t to teach the blind because I was visually impaired myself, and I found myself pitying the children too much. Instead, I became fascinated by learning American Sign Language (although I started with learning Signing Exact English), and working with the hard-of-hearing and Deaf populations became my new purpose.
In that case, it was true investigation, study, exposure to the populations, and finally prayer that brought me to that purpose. Although the means to find my purpose were very different, the passion I felt for that purpose was the same.
It was with deep sorrow that I walked away from the Deaf community to become a stay-at-home mother. Getting married changed me so much. I married my best friend and that was a blessing. Working on starting our family was difficult. I had a great deal of difficulty conceiving a child, and we had just decided to adopt a deaf child from my school when I learned I was pregnant. The nesting instinct hit me hard, but so did my new purpose in life: motherhood. Again, it was found thanks to prayer and hard work. I just never imagined that my purpose would morph and grow as my family grew.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As I said at the end of the first question, I had no idea that my purpose in life would take me far from my comfort zone and into an entirely new arena, but it did. My first child, Joseph, taught me how to be a mother. My second child, Alexander, taught me how to be an advocate. Alexander was born with an undetected, life-threatening heart defect. This child, this condition, and our situation would change my life in ways I never could have predicted.
Today, I am the Executive Director for a nonprofit organization: Hearts Unite the Globe: A Nonprofit Organization for the Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Community, or HUG for short. HUG provides free resources to the CHD community. We do that through our website and our podcasts.
What’s exciting about that? I think the most exciting part of my job is meeting people all over the world. HUG provides a platform for people to talk about CHDs and bereavement. We take the fear out of living with chronic illness. We give people a place where they are safe to talk, to learn, and to ask questions. It’s been a joy to unite people all over the world through the power of story.
On World Heart Day, (Sept. 29, 2003) the publishing company I run, Baby Hearts Press, will release its 5th book, “The Heart of a Heart Warrior: Congenital Heart Defect Stories of Hope.” This is the book I wish someone would have handed me when I was given the dismal prognosis that my child probably wouldn’t survive infancy. The book is written by adults who were born with CHDs. My own “heart warrior” is one of the contributors. This is a dream come true.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The most impactful quality in my journey is LOVE. Without love, I doubt I would be where I am today. The love I had for my child, that my parents had for me, that my husband has shown me and continues to show me every single day, AND the love of a brother for a sibling–that quality has helped us survive and thrive. The way love has multiplied over the years to allow me to touch even more people has been a miracle. It’s what keeps me going, even when the going is rough.
I believe my formal education gave me a special advantage to be able to do more. My bachelor’s degree, from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, prepared me for many unforeseen events. The master’s degree I received from The University of Texas at Austin finally put me in touch with the Deaf community and gave me a place to belong. The lessons I learned at UT-Austin and then in teaching the Deaf at Texas School for the Deaf helped me tremendously with my own personal struggles. It constantly amazed me that what I learned in school was exactly what I needed later in life in order to have the most impact in my mission.
I think FAITH is a quality that helped me in my journey. Faith in God, faith in my education, my children, my husband, my family, and my community helped me by providing an invisible hug when I felt most alone. Knowing that God would not forsake me or my child was a huge comfort and enabled me to keep going some days when I couldn’t even remember if I’d showered, eaten, or slept. It was faith that kept me going.
When facing dire situations, I believe we need to surround ourselves with supportive, nurturing people. Sometimes these people are not family members or friends. Sometimes they are strangers who soon become close because of their shared experiences and the ability to see life through a shared lens. Therefore, my advice would be to keep loved ones close but be willing to open your heart to others who are traveling the same path you are traveling upon. Ask questions, keep an open mind, and never assume you know it all. Worldwide knowledge continues to grow and our understanding of that knowledge must continue to grow as well. Finally, have faith that you are loved and that you will have the strength to endure the hard times. You will. And you will be stronger for the experience.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Our baby’s mortality was uncertain when the doctors diagnosed the heart condition. We were told our baby would probably die that weekend. There were three open-heart surgeries that also called into question our child’s mortality. Living with life-and-death experiences teaches you to live as if any day could be your last. I wouldn’t change what I’m doing today, even if I knew I only had a decade left to live. Since I value each moment, I’m quick to say, “I love you” and to capitalize on opportunities to serve others. When my husband and I travel, we always try to meet with someone we care about—that’s what makes our trips memorable. Life is all about people. I aim to make a positive impact and create happy memories with those I care about, whether I have 10 more years or just 10 more minutes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.heartsunitetheglobe.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annamariejaworski/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaMarieJaworski
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-marie-daigneault-jaworski-66019b5/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnaJaworski
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGPKwIU5M_YOxvtWepFR5Zw
