02/10/2026
Happy Heart Month, friends! ❤
While we're all about the love hearts this month, we're also all about the hearts of the ones we love. We wanted to take a minute to share a little about this sweetheart. 🥰
Did you know that congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common birth defect, and that almost 1% (about 40,000) of babies are born each year with a CHD?
This is Derrick Carter, and he is one of the 1%. He was born missing the left ventricle of his heart, which is the part of the heart that pumps oxygenated blood to the body. To overcome this, Derrick has had a series of 3 heart surgeries; the first at 8 days old, then at 9 months, and again when he was 4 1/2. Today he is a creative, engineering-minded, sarcastic, guitar-playing 16 year old. 🥰 When you meet him you would never know that he functions with only half of his heart. There are so many other children (and adults) who are walking around with these special hearts, and too many who are no longer with us.
Help us raise awareness by sharing these stats with someone...you never know who may need to hear them. And while we're talking CHDs, if you have a heart warrior in your life, we'd love to hear about them! 🥰👇
HAPPY HEART MONTH! 😍