Typically when people think of heart disease, they think of their older relatives or even their Mom or Dad, but rarely do people associate this with children.  That is where heart disease touched my life. 

In June 2007, my son Aiden Joseph Maher was born.  He was 7 pounds and 9 ounces and was perfect in every way except one; he had a broken heart.  He was born with a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, where the left side of his heart did not form.  It is a relatively rare condition impacting 1 in every 4,500 babies born.  The cause is currently unknown and it is universally fatal without intervention.   

After a week in the NICU, Aiden had open-heart surgery.  He recovered well and after a few weeks was released from University of Michigan C.S. Motts Children’s Hospital.  We were able to spend 5 days with Aiden at home.  He was only 28 days old when he took his last breath.  The most heart wrenching time in my life was performing CPR on my son.  It is a moment in time that will haunt me forever. 

We do not know what caused Aiden’s heart condition, and we will always wonder why he passed so suddenly after recovering so well.  What we do know is that the battle continues for other families out there.  Donations to organizations like the American Heart Association support continued research and development initiatives.  We are giving these babies a well-deserved chance at life.