September 6th, 2008.   I was preparing to bring my new born baby home.  Car was packed, car seat had been brought up to the hospital room; ready to bring my sweet Abbey home..  It was then that the on-call pediatrician detected a murmur in her heart and life changed forever.

Flash forward, I am following my newborn in an ambulance to the UC Davis Children’s hospital where I would learn that my daughter had been born with only half of a heart.  What I didn’t know then is that 1 in 100 babies is born with a broken heart (aka, Congenital Heart Disease); more than any other birth defect.  My own mother was born with CHD and was the first pediatric open heart surgery case in Sacramento, in 1965.  And I STILL didn’t know how often this is happening.

Because of funding and research, my daughter is still here and thriving.  Because of funding and research, my mom is still here and thriving.  And ultimately, because of funding and research… I am here and I am thriving. 

Please join Team Abbey today and help us find a cure for 1 in 100 babies.