We were asked if we would let Emma represent the American Heart Association for the year and we were beyond surprised! We thought they would want a baby that had undergone treatments or surgery or something like that, but they were happy to have a child that was lucky enough to not need surgery. Her not having surgery doesn't change the impact the AHA had on our family over the past year. So she's the girl of the hour!
The American Heart Association's website was a primary resource of information for us throughout this process. It was the one place we could go to gain information, free of all the emotion. We learned treatment plans and gained an understanding of her heart and the defects it had. The only sense of control we had in all of this was knowledge. We felt the more knowledge we had the more control we had over her condition. We thank God for the resource of the AHA's website.
The thing most people don't know is this: MORE CHILDREN DIE EACH YEAR OF HEART DISEASE THAN ALL TYPES OF CHILDHOOD CANCER COMBINED! That's a crazy and sad statistic... and it's one that isn't well known. Our hope is that through Emma's story people become more aware of how heart disease impacts children. 36,000 babies are born each year with heart disease and most of the time it's unpreventable... that makes the need for successful treatment options that much more important. Through your support the AHA will continue to research and find treatment options to help children fight this nasty disease and go on to live amazing lives.
As you look at the healthy children in your life stop and say a prayer of thanks! And if you would like, we'd love to have you walk with us! If you don't want to walk, feel free to support our Heart Walk team financially. Please feel free to visit this website for more information: http://tinyurl.com/dzu2jf
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! (and Emma's miracle heart too!)
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