Reaching Out...One Shirt at a Time

Yesterday at Kindermusik, Drew and I sported our CHD best.

We both wore CHD shirts in recognition of CHD Awareness Week.

I wore my "I (heart) A Child With a CHD" shirt and he wore his Big House, Big Heart shirt that states when his heart was mended and lists out Warriors and Angels on the back.

I expected some stares, maybe even some questions, I did not expect to meet another heart mom this way. I don't know why, really. It's such a common birth defect, I guess it only makes sense that I would.

We had a new mom and kiddo in our class yesterday and I noticed her reading Drew's shirt...REALLY reading it. Taking in the words, getting closer so she could absorb them. I thought, "wow, cool, she's learning today and I can be a part of educating another Mom."

After class, she came up to me ...

"What problems did your son's heart have?"

I started in with my normal explanation, "He was born with two Congenital Heart Defects and had Open Heart Surgery when he was 9 months old..."

She said, "I know...so did my son...I was wondering which ones he had."

I said, "Your son is a heart kid too? Wow! My son had PS and ASD."

Her son had TGA and ASD and underwent surgery at CHM, just like Drew. His Cardio is Dr. Turner, whom Drew had as well, and his surgeon was Dr. Delius, also Drew's surgeon.

She told me that she had never before met another heart family and that Drew's shirt made her very emotional, in a good way. She was happy to know of another kid out there like her son. I invited her to join us in IMH and she seemed to welcome the invitation.

See what a simple thing like wearing a shirt can do? It can reach families who thought they were alone in this and show them that they're not. That there's a sea of families, wading through this mess we call CHD, in the same boat as she is. And that we are all there for one another.

One shirt at a time ... one day at a time ... we're getting there slowly but surely.