As a top diver at Clemson University, Stephanie Fura of Commerce Township, Mich., was living out one of her dreams.

"It's my life," said Fura. "I love being able to get up and flip and spin and pray that I land on my head."

But Fura had noticed she was struggling with activities her teammates were not.

"To be so out of breath and so in pain when I do a warm-up lap or be on the treadmill for three minutes literally, it just wasn't normal," said Fura.

A dedicated athlete, Fura brushed off her symptoms and pushed herself even harder.

"I just kept thinking I'm out of shape, I need to work harder, I need to do more cardio," Fura said.

It was a team tragedy that finally made Fura take action. Her freshman teammate Amy Moxie suddenly collapsed on campus and died from a torn aorta.

"That was terrible and awful and tragic, but I thank God for it at the same time because although I didn't think I had the same thing as her, I knew I should maybe get it checked out," Fura said.

The first round of tests came back normal, but a cardiac specialist found the answer. Fura had a hole in her heart. Doctors discovered Fura was born with a condition called atrial septal defect or ASD. There was a hole about the size of a nickel in the wall between the upper chambers of her heart.

"I had to get another test done to see if it was going to be open heart or not, and that was terrifying," said Fura.

Fura's doctors in South Carolina initially proposed major surgery to repair the problem, but Stephanie's father Doug Fura found another option at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit.

Doctor Thomas Forbes suggested a new minimally invasive procedure that involves threading a catheter up to the heart through a blood vessel in the leg.

"We no longer have to open up the chest, no longer need to be on bypass. We're able to go in through leg with no cuts, incisions, or suturing, none of that. Just a Band-Aid when we're all done," said Forbes.

Forbes used a device called the Gore Helix Septal Occluder to repair the hole in Fura's heart. The device unfolds inside the heart, and doctors position it on each side of the defect, permanently blocking the hole.

Fura's quick recovery amazed her doctors.

"She got back into the diving routine really about a month after and really hasn't missed a beat," said Forbes.

In February, Fura set a school record. She said she continues to pray for her teammate's family and knows their tragic loss may have helped save her own life.

"I'm so so lucky. I thank God for that every single day because there's just so much that could have gone wrong," said Fura.

To learn more about atrial septal defects and treatment options, click here.