We're truly grateful for your visit to our team page and your support for our HEART WARRIOR, Macy ♥️
At 16 weeks gestation, we were notified that our little girls heart was... different. Over the next 21 weeks until her arrival, we were slammed with appointments, ultrasounds, echocardiograms, and meetings with specialists and her cardiovascular team. They narrowed it down to two potential defects, but until she arrived and they could do a full assessment of her, we were living on hope.
Macy was born at 37 weeks gestation. Because of her heart defect, she was essentially born the color blue/purple, and we never heard her cry. She was rushed almost immediately to the NICU where they did an echo and diagnosed her with Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia with Ventricular Septal Defect (ToF/PAVSD). We spent the next 16 days in the NICU until her first open heart surgery performed by Dr. Marcus Haw at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At day 55, Macy was discharged from the NICU.
Four days before her second birthday, it was time for surgery to replace the conduit from her first surgery. A full repair was completed, and with all the hope in the world, this procedure will last into her adulthood.
Our team is walking with purpose this year—celebrating 30 incredible years of The Children's Heart Foundation funding research that saves lives! Every 15 minutes in the United States, a baby is born with a congenital heart defect, making CHDs the most common birth defect in our country. For three decades, CHF has been the driving force behind the treatments and surgical advances that have transformed survival rates and given countless children with CHD the chance to thrive.
The Congenital Heart Walk is dedicated to making this impact continue. Our mission is clear—we aim to raise funds to support The Children's Heart Foundation's quest to advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of CHDs by funding groundbreaking research that improves outcomes, reduces complications, and helps Heart Warriors live longer, healthier lives.
We invite you to join our team in honoring this legacy. By supporting our team or walking with us, you're contributing to research that can save and enhance the lives of infants born with CHDs, as well as children and adults living with these conditions. Together, we're part of a 30-year story of hope—and we're writing the next chapter. Your support makes a significant impact, and for that, we want to say a heartfelt thank you.
Will you join us in making a real difference? Please consider supporting our team or walking with us. Every step we take together celebrates how far we've come and funds the miracles still ahead.