Yes, you read that right, Harry Boy proudly proclaims to his friends that he has three belly buttons! In reality, he has one belly button and two chest tube scars, along with his heart surgery incision - all badges of honor from the open heart surgery he endured at just 10 days old to repair his transposition of the great arteries, and his VSD. One day we'll tell him the whole story - but for now, we're just going to stick to the story of three belly buttons and one special heart.
We're the lucky ones, really - because Harry is just like any other 4-year old boy. He's wild and rambunctious, he does gymnastics and plays baseball, he thinks he is Mikey from TMNT, he loves cars and trucks and animals and is 100% ALL. BOY. Believe me, we are so thankful that other than his three belly buttons, no one would know that Harry is a heart baby.
But again, we are the lucky ones - the ones who get to clean up the paint and the glue and the playdoh and the glitter from our curious and messy boy. We're the ones who get to convince him that broccoli is good, and that Cheez-its don't count as a meal. We're the ones who get to use endless amounts of stain stick from the dirt and grass stains, while compiling a stellar collection of mulch, rocks and sticks found in pockets. We're the ones who get to heal invisible boo-boos with Bluey Band-Aids, and look at that permanent marker on our curtains as a masterpiece. Because our boy is still here. Not all heart families are so lucky.
So while we run in celebration of the abundance of life that Harry has been blessed with, we also run in honor and memory of those CHD heroes, and their families, who have had to endure the unimaginable. We run for the heart moms and dads who stay up a little later at night just to watch their child sleep peacefully. For the ones with an endless amount of alarms for their child's various medications. We run for the heart families who endure countless appointments with no answers, or devastating news. We run for those who didn't get enough time. We run because every single day with Harry is a gift that we will not take for granted.
Every year Wild Hearts Fun Run teams and participants rally together to raise funds to help children battle Congenital Heart Defects! This money goes to travel expenses, hospital expenses, research, emotional support and more!
al support and more!
