Written By Laci Minard
We donate a portion of our profits from Whitetail Home Inspections to the Children’s Heart Foundation. Let me tell you why.
We have 3 kids, ages 7, 5, & 2. When we took our youngest son Isaac to his 2 month check-up, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with a heart murmur. We had already had 2 kids, and thought we knew everything there was to know about kids and their health. We would surely know if something serious was wrong….right? Wrong. We were sent for an echocardiogram and told he had a large hole in his heart, a congenital heart defect which would likely need open heart surgery. He was in congestive heart failure. His oxygen was low from his lungs being full of fluid. His heart was working so hard that he failed to gain weight. We somehow missed all of the signs that our sweet boy was in such poor health.
I posted on a local facebook group looking for support, and found that there were many other families who had went through the same thing, right here in the Cedar Valley. It turns out, 1:100 children born in the United States have a congenital heart defect (CHD). Of those born with a CHD, 25% will require life-saving open heart surgery. Although there are more than 40 different types of CHDs, funding for research is limited. Little is known about the cause of most of them, and there is no known prevention or cure for any of them. Many heart warriors even require multiple surgeries throughout their lifetime. Although surgery can repair most CHDs, it is by no means a cure. That child will always have a “different” heart, with foreign materials to keep it beating. That child will always have steel wires holding their ribs together. That child will always have a scar down the middle of their chest….their battle wound, their super hero scar.
At 3 months old Isaac had open heart surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Today he is doing fantastic! Sometimes in life, hard things happen. At the time, you may not know why, or even how you’ll make it through. But once the storm has passed, you can look back and appreciate the experience and be grateful for all the blessings in your life. We came out of this battle much stronger, with different priorities and a new perspective on life. Soon after we began feeling the urge to simplify our lives. Matt wanted to use his skill set, yet do something that he could truly excel at and enjoy. That’s where Whitetail Home Inspections came in!
We thank God every day for our son and his health. This is why we donate a portion of our profits to the Children’s heart foundation. They have funded over $11.1 million of CHD research. February is Heart month, if you are looking for a charity to support, the Children’s Heart Foundation is at the top of our list!
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