Liz immediately caused a stir when she came into the world.  Born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, she fought through multiple surgeries during the first two years of her life, with the first surgery coming when she was four days old.  From the start Liz endeared herself to everyone with her big blue eyes, cute smile, infectious laugh, and spunky personality.  Even though HLHS is a serious congenital heart defect, Liz did not let it slow her down.  Many people acquainted with Liz did not know about her condition because she lived as normally and fully as possible.  Sadly, Liz’s life ended too soon at the age of 24.

Liz learned early about the importance of having positive people in her life and supporting them in return. She embraced her family and friends with love. Liz could make new friends easily with her sunny personality, quick wit, and sense of humor.  She also counted life-long friends from Penn State, Hollywood News Source, various Comic-Cons, and Camp Echo, a cardiac-themed summer camp where she was a camper and counselor for many years. Liz made it a priority to make sure the people in her circle knew how important they were to her and would often send them a quick message just to say hello.

Liz’s adventurous personality drove her to explore the world. Her love of travel was evident early on as she recorded her trips with thousands of photographs. As an adult, she would think nothing of hopping on a plane to visit friends in Dallas, Nashville, and Los Angeles, or making a run up to New York City to have lunch and see a play on Broadway. Visiting coffee shops in towns both home and abroad allowed her to appreciate the local scene and have conversations where she learned about the area she was visiting. 

Creativity was an integral part of Liz’s spirit, and she had many passions, including photography, making memes (often poking fun at family situations), producing and editing videos, writing episodic reviews of a favorite tv show to entertain its fandom, and crafting new chapters of fan fiction featuring Captain America.  She worked to support others in their creative pursuits as well and celebrated their successes. If a fellow writer needed help with a story line, she was happy to jump in and work on ideas or provide feedback.

We would be remiss to not mention that Liz was a foodie. She truly enjoyed trying new restaurants, cooking delicious meals using recipes found in her burgeoning collection of cookbooks, and baking tasty treats. Liz understood that a good meal was even better if she could share it with family or friends, which she did quite often. 

Liz filled her social media pages with bright smiles and funny antics from her travel and her experiences with her friends, mixed with more serious philosophical musings on life. Some of those musings are highlighted on these pages and are part of the basis for MarveLiz Heart.  In her professional career, Liz used her communication degree in her work as a social media coordinator, which fit well with a knack for finding the best qualities in people and enhancing them in her posts. She particularly enjoyed the opportunity to highlight the work of strong young women, reflecting her fundamental enthusiasm for supporting and enhancing the place of women in the world.  

Although Liz’s life was cut short because of her congenital heart defect, we know her enthusiasm for life will continue on through the many people she touched. MarveLiz Heart was created in her memory and will work towards making sure that other individuals with congenital heart defects can live as fully as Liz did.