“I was surprisingly calm.”

Sophia was born with a rare congenital heart defect called double outlet right ventricle.

She’s had multiple open-heart surgeries, and currently uses two pacemakers.

Last fall, she was really nervous about an upcoming surgery. Watch the video above to find out what happened!

Thanks for sharing your story, Sophia! This is the last post in a series about youth who conquered hard times, going along with this month’s magazine. We hope you’ve been inspired!