This week is the Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Awareness Week.... 7-14 February! Coincidentally it starts on Luca's birthday and it goes all the way to Valentine's day...In honor of this week, I will share some information with you regarding CHD's that most of us are not aware of... Below information taken from "The Mason Family" blog (http://masonfamilyupdate.blogspot.com/):
*CHDs are the #1 birth defect and the #1 cause of infant death related to birth defects. 1 in every 100 babies born will have a CHD (1 in every 800-1000 babies born has Downs Syndrome).
*1 in 10 of those born with a CHD will have a fatal defect.
*In the US there are nearly twice as many deaths due to CHDs than that of all forms of childhood cancers combined. Yet there is 5 times more research for pediatric cancer than for CHDs.
*The cost of inpatient surgery alone for CHDs exceeds 2.2 billion dollars per year.
*There are approximately 35 known Congenital Heart Defects.
*Causes for CHDs are still being studied. While there is no known definitive cause, it is said that both genetics and environmental factors can play a role. Scientists have actually identified over 100 mutations that are directly linked to the heart.
*There is no known cure for CHDs. However, the mortality rate after surgery has significantly decreased in the past 20-30 years. On average it is about 5% compared to the 30% it was. At the same time, the rate of incidence of CHDs has remained unchanged.
*With advances in medicine, many of those born with a CHD will have their first and sometimes only corrective surgery before age 2.
*Many of those living with a CHD go on to lead normal to near normal lives. Those with complex CHDs will also go on to lead longer and more active lives than before. Most will have some physical limitations, but almost all learn to move pass them.
*Only about 30% of the children who need a heart transplant receive one in time.
*About 40,000 units of blood are used every day yet only about 5% of the adults, the only ones who are eligible to donate blood, do so. Someone needs blood every three seconds in the United States; that someone is often one of our heart children
Here is a video that Shannon Mason (another heart mom here in So. Cal.) put together to help build CHD awareness where Luca's picture and information is included...enjoy! Don't forget to hit the pause buttom on the music below to hear the video...
1 comment:
No he podido evitar las lagrimas viendo este video.
Raul tiene casi 5 años y lleva una vida normal como cualquier otro niño y muchas veces se nos olvida todo lo que pasamos y, aunque su cicatriz nos lo recuerda todos los dias, cuando leemos algo relacionado con cardiopatias infantiles o vemos algun video se nos encoge el corazon y nos viene a la mente todas las imagenes, que no se nos han olvidado, pero si que las tenemos apartadas de nuestra memoria.
Helo, que suerte hemos tenido con nuestros pequeños heroes. Tenemos muchas ganas de veros. Besitos, Elena, Javi y Raul.
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