Hello! My name is Beckham and I was born with a complex congenital heart defect (CHD) called Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia and Marjor Aortopulmonary Collateral Arteries; aka TOF/PA/MAPCA's. My CHD includes five heart defects. The part of it that is most complex means that I do not have two typical pulmonary arteries branching out from my heart to my lungs like most people. Instead I have teeny tiny collatral arteries (MAPCA's) that look like spider webs going to my lungs. Because my heart defect is so rare, my parents had to travel out of state to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (Stanford) for my birth and multiple open heart surgeries. I still travel there every 1-2 years for cardiac catheters to monitor my heart and lungs. In addition to regular cardiology appointments and testing at home every 4-6 months.
To give you a sense of how rare my heart defect is, we know that CHD's are the most common birth defect in the United States. Every 1 in 100 babies born in the US will be born with a congenital heart defect. About 1 in 2,500 babies are born with TOF (one of my heart defects). And only 0.7 of 10,000 babies are born with TOF/PA/MAPCA's. It accounts for about 2% of all CHD's.
The research that the Children's Heart Foundation provides has quite literally saved my life. Their mission is to advance the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of congenital heart defects through groundbreaking research. Did you know that in the US, twice as many children die from CHD each year than all forms of childhood cancer combined, yet pediatric cancer research is 5x higher. I don't share this statistic to diminish the need for research and awareness for any other childhood diseases. Only to bring awareness to how vastly underfunded one of the most deadly and most common childhood diseases is. In the last decade, survival rates for congenital heart defects have increased by almost 30% thanks to continued research and innovative treatment options. My family dreams of this percentage doubling over the next decade. But we need your help.
If you are able to donate and support team Beckham Strong we would greatly appreciate it. Any amount helps. Even if you are unable to donate financially, please help share our page and aid us in our fight to raise awareness and research for CHD. Together, we can raise the funds that are essential to drive forward this crucial life-saving research. Beckham will need at least 1 if not more open heart surgeries in his future. With more research and medical advancements our hope is that his surgeries can be less invasive and have better outcomes.
Thank you for taking the time to visit our fundraising page and any donations you are able to give. Thank you for always standing by team Beckham Strong, and supporting Beckham and our family throughout our journey and fight against CHD. We love each and every one of you.
And if you are local, we would love to have you join our team and walk to raise CHD awareness. We will be walking for Beckham, for our many special heart warrior friends, and for the heart angels who will always be remembered.
"You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice." - Bob Marley
