For example: Congenital heart defects are the number one cause of birth defect-related deaths, and the leading cause of ALL infant deaths in the United States.
My son is one of the lucky ones. He’s a survivor. And it only took one open-heart surgery -- so far; he’s facing the potential of another this summer -- to set him on the path to good health. 
Tyson at one of his many doctor visits. He can even giggle about them these days.
We know it could have been worse. When he was diagnosed, we read the heartbreaking stories of survival rates, painful surgeries and, in some cases, parents being faced with the ultimate loss.
And we personally know families that have gone through much more traumatic experiences: Here’s the story of a fellow teacher in Brooke’s district. Please take the time to read it.
To say life isn’t fair is an understatement. No 7-month-old should have to go through that. No family should have to go through that.
This is Congenital Heart Defect week. I’m not going to preach to you. If you don't know Tyson's story, you can read it in my previous blog posts. I’m not one to really buy into these “awareness” events.
But once you’ve been through something, you feel an allegiance to it. So this is my contribution to the effort. If it causes you to think a little more about families in this situation, or to make a small donation to the research that helps "heart babies," I’ll consider my job done.
My son is a daily walking reminder of congenital heart defects. This week, we’ll put him in his heart-embroidered,“Chicks Dig Scars” shirt and hope someone asks what that is all about.
We have a story to tell and this is a good week to tell it.
It will start with the words, “Well, we are really lucky…” 
No comments:
Post a Comment