My niece Eva is a heart warrior. She was born with a congenital heart defect (CHD). It was discovered the day after she was born. She had her first open heart surgery in April, 2012 - when she was only 18 months old. Although we understood that the possibility was rare, she later developed a side effect from her original condition that required an emergency second open heart surgery. Her second surgery was in January, 2015 - when she was four years old. That rare side effect came back again after her second surgery. In June 2018, Eva had her third open heart surgery - when she was seven years old. The third surgery lasted 11 hours. It is very likely that she will need at least one more in the near future.​

The Children's Heart Foundation has been part of Eva's and our family's lives since Eva was born. They have provided her with care bags while hospitalized, support groups for her parents in between surgeries, and through their research, the hope that her condition could improve or that new treatment options could be developed to avoid full open heart surgeries.   

Our team is raising critical funds for the Children's Heart Foundation to battle CHD. CHD is among the most commonly occurring birth defects - affecting a baby born every 15 minutes. CHD is the leading cause of birth-defect related mortality.

Eva is a true heart warrior - she has faced surgeries with bravery, doctor's appointments with resolve, and obstacles with immense strength. She is smart, compassionate, and funny - and a candidate orange black belt in taekwondo! 

Please support Eva's battle, and help us to fund CHD research by making a donation to my personal fundraising page. Together we can make a life-saving difference!