Age: 16
Hometown: Lebanon, Oregon
Diagnosis: Anomalous aortic origin of the left coronary artery
Shoe: Nike Air Force 1 Fontanka
In 2018, Cidni was playing soccer when she felt a sudden pain in her chest. By the time she got to the sidelines, she was already going into cardiac arrest. Luckily, Cidni’s mom is a nurse and was able to perform CPR, essentially saving her daughter’s life.
Once she arrived at OHSU Doernbecher, Cidni was diagnosed with anomalous aortic origin of the left coronary artery. This means that a critical artery supplying blood to her heart was attached in the wrong place and Cidni’s heart wasn’t getting enough oxygen, causing dangerously poor cardiac function.
Six months and one major heart surgery later, Cidni was back on the pitch and playing to win for her high school team, the Lebanon Warriors. Her soccer-inspired Air Force 1 Fontanka pays tribute to her teammates, as well as all the beloved animals in her life. Spoiler alert: there are a LOT of them. Look closely at the laces to find the names for Tito (parrot); Bosco (donkey); Cheez-its, Thoober, and Jonathan (goats); Carol Bask-hen (chicken); Copper (dog); and Swim Shady (fish), just to name a few!
Cidni’s horse, Tank, is featured on the left sockliner, while her mom, Nikki, gets a special mention on the other. “I got Tank because I didn’t know if I’d ever play soccer again, and he really helped cheer me up,” Cidni explained. “And my mom is my hero. I wouldn’t be here without her.”
Flip Cidni’s shoe over, and you’ll find another of her favorite things on the outsole: shrimp pasta. (See if you can find her name written in the noodles). “It’s my favorite thing to eat in the whole world, so of course it had to go on my shoe,” she laughed.
Now that Cidni is on the road to recovery, this active, good-natured girl is looking ahead to the future and planning to work with horses one day. In the meantime, she’ll continue to approach every day with the same positive attitude and fighting spirit that’s taken her this far in life.
Six months and one major heart surgery later, Cidni was back on the pitch and playing to win for her high school team.
