Happy Heart Day

Not only is it Valentine's Day, but it's Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Day as well. With the thankfulness that comes from knowing that Abby is asleep in the other room with a whole heart, comes a responsibility to pass along what we've learned about CHDs since her diagnosis. Here are a few staggering facts :

-CHDs remain the number one birth defect and the leading cause of birth defect-related deaths.
-About 1 out of every 100 babies are born each year with some type of Congenital Heart Defect. (approx. 40,000/year)
-Nearly twice as many children die from Congenital Heart Defects in the United States each year as from all forms of childhood cancers combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD.
-The American Heart Association directs only $0.30 of every dollar donated toward research. The remainder goes toward administration, education and fundraising efforts. Of the $0.30 that goes toward research only $0.01 goes toward pediatric cardiology for CHD.
-The cost for inpatient surgery to repair Congenital Heart Defects exceeds $2.2 billion a year.
-14-16% born with CHD have Ventricular Septal Defects (this is what Abby had -- the most common!)

Here is a drawing of a VSD, what Abby's heart looked like before surgery (the big hole in the middle is where her patch went):



I am on a message board about CHDs and when the moms sign off, they put their child's name and what type of CHD they have. I am continually amazed at how many children have multiple heart problems-- things they will be dealing with for the rest of their lives. Even though what we went through was very stressful, Abby is doing wonderful and had a successful surgery that, we pray, has solved her problem. That time is starting to feel like a distant memory - all of the worrying and fretting over her heart, her surgery, her eating, her lack of weight gain. I actually find myself wanting her vanishing scar to remain forever as a sign of God's faithfulness to us. We are extremely thankful for this past year, every hard moment of it and are reminded on this "heart day" that all of you upheld us in ways we can never repay. Thank you for your friendship and generosity. Our God has been so kind and generous to give us each of you who, quite literally, carried us through.