Thank you for visiting our team page! Every 15 minutes, a baby in this country is born with a congenital heart defect, making CHDs America's most common birth defect. The Congenital Heart Walk is dedicated to raising funds to support The Children's Heart Foundation's mission: to advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of CHDs by funding the most promising research.

Marissa was born with AVSD with mitral valve regurgitation. At the time of her birth, we were unaware of any heart problems. At 13 months of age all that changed. While being hospitalized with RSV, she was found to have a very significant heart murmur. Further testing with a pediatric cardiologist in Harrisburg revealed a major hole between the upper atriums of her heart as well as a small hole between the ventricles, along with damage to both the mitral and tricuspid valves. That devastating news rocked our family! 

After being told of the need for immediate surgery, we met with Dr. Clark at Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey, PA. Marissa had open heart surgery on April 23, 2018 and was discharged 4 days later with a new lease on life. Those 4 days were some of the longest, hardest days of our lives. On April 29th, 2023 will be participating in our 5th heart walk with Marissa. Marissa is so excited to walk, as well as meet old friends and new friends alike. 

Will you join us? By supporting our team or joining us in our walk, you're supporting research that will help save and improve the lives of babies born, and children and adults living, with CHDs. Together, we can make a lifesaving difference! Thank you!