As some of you know, my niece Emerson was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome before she was born. HLHS is a severe congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped; the left side of the heart has the job of pumping oxygenated blood into the large artery that carries blood to the body. On a typical day, Emerson is operating at 85% oxygen. The treatment for HLHS is a series of open-heart reconstructive surgeries which ultimately tasks the right side of the heart with the job usually done by the left side of the heart. Emerson is four years old and has undergone her fifth (and hopefully final) open heart surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital; she is currently home recovering and can be found playing farm and “checking all of the animals for bugs”. She is a force. I would like to extend a thank you for the many prayers that were sent our way throughout her series of surgeries.
I'm participating in Yoga Reaches Out Yogathon, because I am passionate about helping kids and families at Boston Children's Hospital. On April 23, I'll join a community of more than 1,400 at Gillette Stadium for an inspirational day of yoga, music, and fundraising - all to bring lifesaving answers and hope to the sickest children from around the world.
- give children battling the most complex diseases treatments they can't find anywhere else;
- help children in your town and those across the world get a second chance;
- fuel 3,000+ researchers working to find cures;
- help patient-families in crisis with urgent needs, including housing, food and clothing;
- bring crucial care to families through not 1, but 4 outpatient psychiatry clinics;
- provide reiki, yoga and a safe place to simply exhale for families facing the stress of caring for a critically-ill child;
- and so much more.
