Just over two years ago, my world was completely different than it is today. I did not know well what a congenital heart defect was, that a group like Conquering CHD was a thing,  that could be born with half a heart (and survive!) I hadn't ever spent more than a couple days in a hospital, I had never met with more than one or two specialists in my life, I hadn't ever cried in front of a group of 20 hospital employees, and I didn't realize how blessed you could be when you are impacted in all of these ways.

I support Conquering CHD for my daughter, Rilee, who was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) in October of 2018. She had her first open heart surgery at 5 days old and we spent the next 37 days in the hospital. At 4 months old, Rilee had her 2nd open heart surgery and we spent the next 40 days in the hospital. There were a few other much shorter stays in the first 6 months of her life but now we have been hospital free for almost 1.5 years! Unfortunately, her journey is far from over and we will be back for at least 1 additional planned surgery in the next couple of years. Conquering CHD is a group of volunteers that make the time spent in the hospital and the time at home with a heart warrior feel a little bit less lonely and isolating. Conquering CHD supports families with prenatal packets, surgery and catheter bags that include educational content, small tokens of support, activities, and a feeling that a group of people you don't know came together to support you. In addition, they provide advocacy for heart warriors, social events, and education events with our local hospitals. I believe so much in their mission, I recently became the Vice President for the Michigan chapter.

This year, we cannot do our typical fundraising events that bring people together so we made it extra "funky" and are instead selling the shirts and doing fundraising to support our missions. Children are still born every day with Congenital Heart Defects and we are still providing support to families. Unfortunately, we can't continue to do that if we don't generate income! Please consider donating to Conquering CHD Michigan on behalf of Rilee and our story. It is so appreciated and will help families like us feel a little less alone in the most challenging time of their lives.

You can support a couple of ways:

1) Donate directly to my cause on this page.

2) If you want to register for a t-shirt and maybe even raise some funds yourself, go to the team page and register to join from there!