Our oldest son, Ayden, was born with a congenital heart defect (CHD) called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Essentially, Ayden was born with half of a developed heart and had to undergo three planned (and some unplanned) surgeries to reroute his blood flow. His life is miraculous. His struggle (and ours) in those first couple of years was intense.
Though Ayden's heart has thus far been a success story, he still deals with some developmental issues with his gross motor skills and feeding. However, if you were to look at our son and interact with him, you probably wouldn't even know Ayden has a serious CHD... only his scar gives him away.
Congenital heart defects have no cure. One can't "fix" a CHD. We don't know what the future looks like for Ayden's heart. The oldest survivors with the same three surgeries are in their early 30s.
Over the past few years, we have become more and more involved in the heart community. So many people have supported us in our journey, and we hope to help others in the same way. We have grown to love many families, and we wear their burdens and their joys. We are all working hard to make the struggle better.
One way we can help is by participating in special events, such as Nashville's Congenital Heart Walk on May 16th. Events such as these help raise awareness for CHDs; they also help raise funds for research and family aid.
Our family humbly requests your participation. Please consider donating to this fundraiser, and/or please join us in the walk as a participant on our Lionhearts team!
We are grateful for your part in our journey. We are so immensely blessed!
Ayden's Lionheart Donation Page: http://events.congenitalheartwalk.org/site/TR/Walk/General?px=1072161&pg=personal&fr_id=1150
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