Kids and families thank medical staff during heart month

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A tiny but mighty crew waited in the lobby of Children’s Hospital Colorado Outpatient Specialty Care on Friday, Feb. 9, all decked in red attire and wheeling a cart filled with goodies. The purpose of this special visit was to convey heartfelt gratitude to the medical team whose care has meant the world to them, especially during National Heart Month.

“We’re at the Children’s Hospital Cardiology Outpatient Clinic today to celebrate our doctors and nurses that have guided us through this process,” said Outreach Coordinator for Mended Little Hearts of Colorado, Morgan Hybert. “We’ve brought them some goodies, some cookies, donuts and some tumblers and goodie bags just to say thank you.”

Mended Little Hearts of Colorado is a branch of Mended Hearts, which serves the Southern Colorado community as a nonprofit organization connecting families and patients who are affected by congenital heart disease.

“Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) runs a very wide range of things that could mean a hole in a baby’s heart to a baby missing an entire half of their heart,” Hybert said. “Most of the children that have a congenital heart defect, about 25% of them will need a lifesaving surgery at some point during their diagnosis.”

Hybert intimately understands the profound impact of this heart defect, as her son Oliver was born with the condition, leading them into the supportive care of Children’s Hospital Colorado.

“Children’s has been incredible, meeting with his cardiologist every time we see her, it’s not just treating Oliver and asking about Oliver, it’s talking about our family and how are we coping with his diagnosis and how are we managing, and so it really does become a family,” Hybert said. “That’s what Mended Little Hearts is all about, too, is that peer-to-peer support and really connecting with one another so that we can move through this journey together.”

While February is National Heart Month, there is a special distinction from Feb. 7-14 of Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week aimed at enhancing awareness of the impact this condition has on families across the entire state.

Mended Little Hearts of Colorado reached out to Governor Polis to make this proclamation. Hybert said, “[it’s] really exciting to see that the state is recognizing that these kids are important and that see CHD is really critical and deserves our attention.”

As the nonprofit wheeled the cart with their gratitude goodies down the hall toward their healthcare heroes, Oliver’s smile spoke volumes; he knew who was on the other side of the door waiting for him.

“We saw them at least a couple of times a month in the beginning,” said Children’s Hospital Colorado Fetal Cardiology Nurse, Sarah Eaton. “Now that they’re older and getting better, we see them less frequently, but we still have those relationships, which is awesome.”

Eaton, along with other hospital staff, were greeted with hugs and met with words of appreciation from the Mended Little Hearts of Colorado. Through the good and the bad, it was this medical team who was there throughout the entire experience.

“Our patients are amazing, and we are happy to be a part of their very long and very hard journey and if we can make any part of that journey easier for them, that means the world to us,” said Eaton.

While the visit was meant as a form of appreciation, it also left a lasting impression on the hospital staff, who were able to see their little heart warriors not merely as patients.

“It’s really nice to see them walking around, not afraid of us, because sometimes testing can be scary and a little intimidating,” said Children’s Hospital Colorado Adult Congenital Cardiology Nurse, Laura Yavanian. “So it’s lovely to have them in clinic and comfortable with us and walking around and playing with their toys and interacting with everyone.”

As the little ones were able to play with light up toys and walk around the hall, their parents had the opportunity to convey their profound gratitude for the journey and support from the medical team to bring their children to these big milestones.

“Being able to see our families from birth through their school years and their middle school years and their high school years into college and adulthood is just amazing,” Yavanian said. “We really get to know them long term, their families, their siblings, their struggles and their successes and it’s a really special part of our jobs to be able to see kind of their whole lives play out when we get to be a part of it.”

As the rest of the week progresses, Mended Little Hearts of Colorado will continue promoting awareness for CHD by wearing red attire and sharing their personal stories of their heart fighters. There are also several ways for the community to get involved and help support their cause.

“We do have a text-to-give campaign that’s going this month as well, so you can text heart to 801801 and if you’d like to come and hang out and join us, we will be at the Goat Patch on Tuesday, February 13th, a dollar of every pint sold goes directly to our organization,” said Hybert.

Amidst the gifts and treats lies the sweetest message of all, shared from the depths of compassionate hearts in helping each other through the toughest of times.

“We are so grateful that they came to recognize us,” Eaton said. “It’s always a great day when we get to see our patients and we get to hang out with them and they’re not doing all of the testing and all of that stuff. So, it meant the world to us to see them thriving and here running around handing out bags and all of those fun things, playing with all the lights.”

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