This is a very important week to our family. Congenital Heart Defects affect so many children and families. My little man, Nolan, that you see above, has Aortic Stenosis and Regurgitation. I'm going to share more about his diagnosis and journey next week, so stay tuned. God has his hand on this little boy and you'll want to hear about how God has touched him.
CHD Awareness Week is February 7th-14th!
Some facts about CHD from The Children's Heart Foundation:
- Congenital heart defects are America’s and every country’s #1 birth defect. Nearly one of every 100 babies is born with a CHD.
- Congenital heart defects are the #1 cause of birth defect related deaths.
- Congenital heart defects are the leading cause of all infant deaths in the United States.
- Each year approximately 40,000 babies are born in the United States with a congenital heart defect. Thousands of them will not reach their first birthday and thousands more die before they reach adulthood.
- Each year over 1,000,000 babies are born worldwide with a congenital heart defect. 100,000 of them will not live to see their first birthday and thousands more die before they reach adulthood.
So, now you know this is serious, right? And you're thinking what can I do? You can donate to fund research. Just the other day I read about a new research project going on about valves. There's no perfect solution for Nolan. At some point he'll need a valve replacement and we'll be faced with the difficult decision of what kind of valve to choose: mechanical, that requires he be on blood thinners forever, or bovine/pig valve, that doesn't last as long. Tough call. This new research is trying to find a better alternative for valves- a cross between those two choices. There's also new research about catheter placed valves instead of open heart surgery. These kinds of research projects could change Nolan's life! If you choose to donate there are several good options:
For Research: http://www.childrensheartfoundation.org/donate-now
For Care Bags for Children: http://www.savinglittlehearts.com/you-can-help/
Just for caring and reading about a cause that's close to my heart (pun intended), I've got two FREEBIES for you! Feel free to post to your own blog or your Facebook profile to show your support of CHD Awareness this week! Download your FREEBIES here and here.
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