Hello Family and Friends!

Our team is raising critical funds for congenital heart defects! Congenital heart defects are the most commonly occurring birth defect, affecting approximately 1 in 110 babies born, or a child born every 15 minutes. Congenital heart defects are the leading cause of birth-defect related mortality. Our goal is to raise funds so that no other family has to experience the loss of a child due to CHD.

Elias' Story

Elias Paul Estrada was born July 23, 2018. Elias was diagnosed with congenital heart disease two days after he was born. We were told he would have to undergo three open heart surgeries. Devastated by this news, we all knew Elias was a fighter. After being transferred to CHLA, doctors told us we would be there for one to two months. Elias, being the fighter that he was, was able to go home in just three weeks.

Elias loved being at home! He loved playing with his toys, reading books with mom and watching YouTube with dad. While watching YouTube, he would dance and have the biggest smile on his face.

in between surgeries, Elias was required to go to the doctor every two weeks. Additionally, he had physical therapy once a month at home to make certain he didn't fall behind with his hospital stays.

In between his first and second surgery, Elias had to undergo two catheter procedures which required a three to four day stay in the hospital. He was also sick twice before his second surgery, which required him to be hospitalized due to lack of oxygen. Our little Elias was truly a fighter. Every time he returned home it was as if nothing happened to him and he was the happiest boy.

Although Elias had to stay away from big crowds, dad and mom did their best and tried to bring him to every family function. Elias loved being around his family, even though he was shy, just like his mom. It took a while for him to warm up, but he always had a good time. He got to celebrate his first Halloween, Christmas, New Years and Valentine's Day. Time went on and Elias was doing great!

March 22, 2019 was his second surgery. Although it was a long surgery, Elias, being the fighter he was, recovered quickly and returned home within a week.

It took him a while to feel comfortable again and for us to see his smile but, after two days of being home we finally saw him smile. It was such a relief to know he was feeling himself again. He was smiling from ear to ear, playing with his toys, and of course, watching music videos on YouTube with dad and always dancing.

From the beginning, Elias never liked taking his bottle. He only wanted to eat from mom. Because of this, dad and mom decided to take him to a Laker game since we could not leave him alone for more than two hours without him getting hungry and wanting mom again. Looking back, we are so glad we took him. He was such a good boy and danced the whole time!

Elias passed peacefully in his dad's arms with mom caressing him and kissing him. Elias is missed but will never be forgotten because he made sweet memories to last a lifetime.

Please support our team, join us for the Congenital Heart Walk, or both! 

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page for the Congenital Heart Walk. Raising funds for CHD research is critically important to all Heart Warriors and Heart Angels, and personally very meaningful to me. 

Please help us to fund CHD research by making a donation to my personal fundraising page. Together we can make a life-saving difference!