Virginia woman named 'Corazon' receives heart transplant on Valentine's Day

WASHINGTON (7News) — Reporter's Notebook: For Valentine’s Day we bring you the remarkable story of a local woman who received a heart transplant on Valentine's Day two years ago at the Inova Schar Heart and Vascular Institute. And her first name is Corazon.

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You would think after 44 years of marriage that Cora and Pol Atienza would find Valentine’s Day to be a celebration for the young at heart.

“We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. You can ask her. I don’t give her any flowers, nothing," said Cora's husband Pol Atienza.

But for this Prince William County couple, Feb. 14 is the day that altered their lives forever.

“Shortness of breath. I thought it was acid reflux, heartburn," said Cora Atienza.

In January 2022, Cora Atienza checked into Inova Fairfax only to find out that her heart was damaged far more than she realized.

Pol recalled what he told his wife at the time, "You have a very small chance of surviving, and yet, here we are.”

“As part of the transplant process, we do a lot of testing to understand if a heart transplant is likely to help the patient or not and while we were going through that evaluation process she actually suffered a cardiac arrest,"Jamie Kennedy, the Medical Director of the Cardiac Transplant Program at Inova added.

Her life would now be in the hands of doctors who revived her, then placed this 66-year-old on a special machine for eight days to keep her alive until a new heart arrived.

“There’s a lot of science in heart transplant and then there’s a lot of luck and faith too," said Dr. Kennedy.

You can call it kismet or a coincidence if you’d like. But the day of Cora’s transplant was on Valentine’s Day. And Cora stands for Corazon.

“And my name is Corazon which means heart in Spanish. Valentine’s Day. Isn’t that amazing?" emphasized Cora Atienza.

Nearly two years later, Corazon and Pol returned to Inova’s Heart and Vascular Institute for a medical follow-up that ended with rave reviews.

“There are definitely those patients who you see on the schedule and it makes your day and she’s one of them," said Dr. Kennedy.

“I’ve got a second chance at life. It’s like being reborn in a way," said Atienza.

That second chance –-- impossible without experts at Inova and empathy at home.

“The nurses at Inova, they did something extraordinary that I don’t know how to express 'thank you,'" said Pol while fighting back tears.

Corazon’s husband Pol took complete care of his beloved every single day of her recovery. The kind of love you celebrate every day of the year.

“I told her you are a gift, a gift to me," said Pol.

To ensure her remaining days are filled with joy, Corazon Atienza created a bucket list. First, a trip to sunny Florida. Then, a fishing excursion to Alaska.

And soon after Valentine’s Day, they leave for the Philippines to attend their respective 50th high school reunions. The Atienza’s met when they were teenagers. Now, in their mid-60s, in the wake of love once in limbo, Valentine’s Day has transformed into a celebration of life.

“So Valentine’s Day is actually Thanksgiving Day for us. Thanksgiving for the miracle, the blessing from God," concluded Corazon.