This year, I’m participating in my first Heart Walk as a Director with the American Heart Association here in Nashville, an organization that has meant a lot to me for years as a private donor, and now even more so as part of the team.
My connection to this organization began in 2016, just days after my son Turner was born. He was diagnosed with Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT), a condition that caused his tiny heart to race at dangerously high speeds. Turner spent his first several weeks of life in the NICU, while doctors searched tirelessly for the right medication to stabilize him.
After days of trial and error, they administered Flecainide, which successfully kept his heart rhythm steady and offered Turner the chance to have a somewhat normal childhood. For the first two years of his life, he took it every day until, gratefully, he grew out of the condition and no longer required daily medication.
At the time, I didn’t fully realize that Flecainide, and so many other tools available to doctors, exist in part because of the American Heart Association. Through research funding, treatment guidelines, and advocacy, the AHA plays a vital role in stories like ours and countless others.
Heart disease is still the leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming more lives than all forms of cancer combined, while congenital heart defects remain the most common birth defect in newborns, affecting nearly 1 in every 100 babies. The work continues, and so does the impact.
Today, Turner is an empathetic, hilarious, Hamilton-obsessed boy with the best hugs and a healthy heart. I’m walking this year for him, and for every family who’s sat beside a hospital bed waiting for the right treatment to exist. If you’re able, I invite you to invest in the AHA’s life-saving work in whatever way feels right to you. Whether you walk, give, or simply share this post, your support fuels research, advocacy, and hope.
