February! The month of love, chocolates, roses, sweet messages, hearts and #paperheartproject
A scar stretches across my son’s back, the evidence of a lifesaving heart surgery from a CHD.
When you think of February and hearts, CHD probably doesn’t come to your mind right away…and that is probably because Congenital Heart Defects are severely under researched and underfunded. You may even be asking what CHD is….A congenital heart defect is a defect in the heart structure that is present at birth. One out of a hundred children are born with a CHD. There are many different types of CHD and children can suffer from one defect or multiple defects. The severity of the defect can range from mild, meaning a child will need no treatment, to terminal, the defects will ultimately take the child’s life.
My handsome,strong, healthy son is one of those kiddos. He was born with a PDA, (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) which is a CHD likely due to being born severely premature. Fortunately, he has no long term health effects and beside the large scar stretched below his left shoulder-blade, there is not much evidence that he required a lifesaving heart surgery to ligate the defect while just shy of two weeks old and weighing under 2lbs.
For many children, however, having a CHD means long hospitalization stays, recurrent surgeries, and long term health issues and decreased quality of life.
This month of February you may notice your instagram feed filling with photos of paper hearts and the hashtag #paperheartproject. This is a fun way to help spread CHD awareness and ultimately support much needed funding for CHD.
Just last weekend my son walked onto the mat for his wrestling match. As he took position getting ready to take on his opponent, I noticed his PDA scar poking out of his uniform. In that moment I was a bit taken back thinking about my 1lb baby with a CHD, now, healthy and full of gusto. My wish is for every parent with a child facing a CHD to have the same opportunity as my kiddo and to see their child win the fight!
Go!!
Share the love! #paperheartproject