Dr. Jillianne Code, assistant professor and researcher in the Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy, is featured in a documentary that follows three heart transplant patients over five years.
The documentary, My Broken Heart, premiers Sunday, March 26, 2023 at the HeartLife Foundation Canada Fundraiser at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) Centre in downtown Vancouver.
For tickets, visit HeartLife Fundraiser: My Broken Heart – Documentary Premiere.
Just six weeks before she was to start her PhD, Jillianne Code collapsed from heart failure. Her cardiologist told her she should probably withdraw from school, but she went on to complete her doctorate in educational psychology and a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University.
But the journey was not easy. In 2010, she experienced a stroke. Later that year, she underwent surgery for an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, followed by a left ventricular assist device in 2014. She received her first heart transplant in 2014, had a massive heart attack in 2017, and received her second heart transplant in 2018.
Read the Faculty of Education’s conversation with Dr. Code about the documentary, the HeartLife Foundation of Canada (which she co-founded), her research in the ALIVE Lab, and her advice for those facing medical disabilities.