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 IN THIS TOGETHER How Two Sisters Turned Survival Into Solidarity Exclusive Interview with Hannah & Bethany Keime Featured in 'Innerviews' Hosted by Allié McGuire Solidarity is often spoken about in crowds, but it is forged in private. For sisters Bethany and Hannah Keime, it was born in hospital rooms, when two athletic high school girls were suddenly diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, the leading cause of sudden death in student athletes. Now living with implanted defibrillators and a profound gratitude for early detection, they have transformed uncertainty into purpose as co-founders of HeartCharged, advocating for cardiac screening and emergency preparedness. Their mission is simple and urgent: to ensure that no child faces a silent heart condition alone, and that every life that can be saved is. ALLIÉ: Before HeartCharged had a name, before advocacy had this platform, there were just two sisters navigating something terrifying together. I want to go back there for a moment. When everything felt uncertain and fragile, what did solidarity look like between you in the quiet moments when no one else was there to see? HANNAH: We don’t often stop and reflect on that, so thank you for giving us the space to do that now. BETHANY: For me, it was pulling over in the car and crying. There were many days like that. With eight other siblings, finding a quiet place in the house was nearly impossible at the time of our diagnosis. So I would find those moments alone just to release everything I was holding inside. I was confused. We both were. We didn’t know what our future would look like. There was so much uncertainty. Taking those moments to release the fear and emotion was necessary just to keep moving forward.  ALLIÉ: Your journeys with HCM have not unfolded identically, and yet you carry this mission side by side. How have you learned to hold space for each other without letting comparison or guilt creep in? HANNAH: We’ve always been lifelines for each other. It feels like we’re tied together by an invisible string, the only two in our family with this condition. In many ways, it brought us closer and gave us a shared sense of purpose. My diagnosis progressed more quickly, while Bethany’s developed more gradually. But instead of comparing our experiences, we focused on our shared gratitude. We realized we could channel that gratitude into something meaningful. People often ask what it’s like to run an organization with your sibling. For us, it’s been a gift. We share the same vision and values. We also have different strengths and talents that complement each other. We’ve never resented each other or compared timelines. We’ve been close our entire lives. We’ve always known each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we’ve always wanted the other to live a full, happy life.  ALLIÉ: You’ve both chosen visibility in a space where silence is often more comfortable, especially for women. There is power in that choice, but there is also a cost. What has it personally required of each of you to keep showing up as educators and advocates while also being patients? BETHANY: It has taken a toll on my mental health at times. Some days are incredibly hard. As young women, we’ve faced criticism, doubt, and people telling us that what we’re doing won’t make a difference. We’ve seen ideas we developed to help save lives taken and used by others. That has been painful. There are days when it feels exhausting to keep fighting. But then I remember the lives at stake. I think about people who don’t have anyone beside them who understands this condition. We are fortunate to have each other, but not everyone does. That perspective keeps us going. At the same time, it’s important to remember that we are still people living our lives. We have to find balance and protect our own happiness and well-being.  HANNAH: It is difficult. There are days when fatigue makes everything harder. This year, we’ve committed to making HeartCharged our full-time focus, while also managing our own health. We have countless medical appointments, testing, and medication adjustments. It can feel overwhelming. During those moments, I return to the messages people have sent us. I’ve saved them. Their words remind me why this work matters. Our community understands what it means to live with this condition. They show grace when we need time to rest. When I tell someone I’ve been struggling, they respond with compassion, not pressure. That understanding gives us strength. It allows us to continue without feeling like we have to sacrifice ourselves completely in order to help others. ALLIÉ: That’s such an important distinction. You’re not speaking to an audience. You’re showing up for a community. There’s a profound difference in that. Solidarity often gets reduced to posts, hashtags, or moments that fade quickly. In your work, you ask people to move beyond awareness into action. What does real solidarity look like in saving lives?  HANNAH: Social media can be challenging, but it’s also powerful. Even when someone simply shares our posts, it introduces this reality to people who may have never heard of it before. Someone might recognize symptoms in themselves and seek medical care. That alone can save a life. We realized early on that awareness has to come first. We could ask people for support, but without awareness, they didn’t understand the urgency. We also recognized that our generation gets information through social media. So we needed to meet people where they are. We strive to create content that is accurate, hopeful, and honest. Content that makes people pause and reflect. At first, we thought simply sharing our story would be enough. But we realized there was also power in creativity. Sometimes humor or parody helps capture attention and opens the door to deeper understanding. BETHANY: We also learned that waiting for others to create change isn’t always effective. We believed initially that policymakers or institutions would solve these problems. But we realized meaningful change often begins at the individual level. We recognized that we have the power to create change ourselves. We didn’t have to wait for someone else to act. That realization was empowering. Instead of waiting, we began building the change we hoped to see. ∎
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