From Mamanista!:
I Heart My Baby
On August 9, 2006, Baby Diva came into the world. Two days later the doctors diagnosed her with tetralogy of fallot–a congenital heart defect that would be fatal without surgery. A few days before she would turn three months’ old, she had open heart surgery to repair her heart.
Heart defects are among the most common birth defects–approximately 40,000 babies (1-2%) in the United States are born each year with a heart defect–and they are the leading cause of defect-related infant death. And yet, there is comparatively little funding going into researching the causes of these defects and treatment options.
Without surgery, depending on the exact pathology, tetralogy of fallot has a mortality of 30% of patients by age 2 years to 50% by age 6 years, 80% by age 10 years, and 95% by age 20…and those statistics are for the more straightforward cases.
However, just one surgery with a very high success rate (95% success in the absence of complicating factors) and Baby Diva now has a good chance to live a normal life (well, as normal of a life as any child of mine could have). Help us to fill the hearts of other infants, the way Baby Diva has filled ours.
A Tribute to Baby Diva
Visit Baby Diva’s Birthday Tribute Page at the American Heart Association, read more about her story, and consider making a donation (every little bit helps) to celebrate with us and to assist the American Heart Association in their research and outreach.
A Contest
There are several ways to gain entries in the contest, for a possible total of three. A winner (possibly two) will be chosen at the end of the day on Baby Diva’s Birthday, August 9, 2007.
Visit Mamanista! for all of the contest details.
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Thank you so much for spreading the word about these contests for us–especially this one! This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart–literally!!!