What is Mended Little Hearts?
Mended Little Hearts, a new support program for parents of children with heart defects and heart disease, is dedicated to inspiring hope in those who care for the littlest heart patients of all. Mended Little Hearts offers resources and a caring support network as families find answers and move forward to find healing and hope.
Partnering with hospitals to provide several programs, Mended Little Hearts connects families in crisis with other parents who have survived the shock of learning a child has a heart problem, navigated the maze of medical decisions and procedures, and mapped out a plan for the future:
Hospital Visiting: Accredited volunteers make on-site visits to parents whose children have been diagnosed with heart defects or are undergoing treatment. Outreach packets contain health information and brochures as well as entertaining items for the child.
Internet and Telephone Visiting: Parents receive support by communicating with trained volunteers over the Internet or telephone. We offer Parent to Parent mentoring. We match you with another parent so they can help and guide you through the process with hope and understanding only another heart parent can understand.
Group Meetings: Support groups help parents understand that they are not alone and that there is hope. Members listen, share their experiences, and discuss issues that impact the family. Monthly we will have educational opportunities for the families in our area. Examples of these may be: Early Intervention specialist, Pharmacist, Insurance Specialists, WIC representative, and Healthcare professionals.
Social Events: Mended Little Hearts programs are encouraged to conduct social events to bring members together to celebrate a theme and offer camaraderie among members and supporters. Christmas Parties, Pumpkin Patch visiting, and Picnics in the summer! Sometimes we all just need to laugh and enjoy and celebrate!
Mended Little Hearts. Little hearts hold big hopes.
What is a CHD?
You passed me in the shopping mall…(You read my faded tee)
You tapped me on the shoulder…Then asked…`”What’s a CHD?”
I could quote terminology…There’s stats that I could give…
But I would rather share with you…A mother’s perspective.
What is it like to have a child with a CHD? it’s Lasix,aspirin,Captopril…
It’s wondering…Lord what’s your will?…It’s monitors and oxygen tanks…
It’s a constant reminder…to always give thanks…
It’s feeding tubes, calories, needed weight gain…
It’s the drama of eating…and yes it’s insane!
It’s the first time I held her…(I’d waited so long)
It’s knowing that I need…to help her grow strong…
It’s making a hospital…home for awhile…
It’s seeing my reward…in every smile.
It’s checking her sats…as the feeding pump’s beeping…
It’s knowing that there… is just no time for sleeping…
It’s caths,x-rays and boo boos to kiss…
It’s normalcy…I sometimes miss…
It’s asking…do her nails look blue?
It’s cringing inside… at what she’s been through.
It’s dozens of call to her pediatrician…
(She knows me by name…I’m a mom on a mission)
It’s winter’s homebound…and hand sanitizer…
It’s knowing this journey…has made me much wiser.
It’s watching her sleeping…her breathing is steady…
It’s surgery day…and I’ll never be ready.
It’s handing her over…( I’m still not prepared…)
It’s knowing that her heart… must be repaired…
It’s waiting for news…on that long stressful day…
It’s …praying…it’s hoping…that she’ll be okay.
It’s the wonderful friends… with whom I’ve connected…
It’s the bond that we share…it was so unexpected…
It’s that long faded scar… down my child’s small chest…
It’s touching it gently…and knowing we’re blessed…
It’s watching her chasing…a small butterfly…
It’s the moment I realized…I’ve stopped asking…why?
It’s the snowflakes that fall…on a cold winter’s day…
(They remind me of those…who aren’t with us today)
It’s a brave little boy…who loved Thomas the train…
Or a special heart bear…or a frog in the rain….
It’s the need to remember…we are all in this plight….
It’s their lives that remind us… we still need to fight!
It’s in pushing ahead amidst every sorrow…
It is finding the strength to have hope for tomorrow.
And no…we’ll never be the same…
It’s changed our family…
This is what we face each day…
This is…a CHD
-MLH National Organization received this from Shannon Arnold Smith
