My cousin, Sadie Brust, is why the American Heart Association is important to me. She was born on October 6, 2018. None of us knew at that time, but we found out over the next few days that she was born with a rare heart defect. Sadie has a mitral valve that doesn't function properly as it allows blood to flow back into the heart. She had open heart surgery later in October in an effort to fix it. The doctors tried putting a patch on the flap to strengthen it, but it didn't help. Even though it didn't help she is a tough girl and she turns 1 in just a few weeks. She takes 7 different medicines daily and they are currently monitoring her while she grows. The goal is to get her to the size where they will do another open heart surgery and put in a mechanical valve to replace her mitral valve.
We all love her very much and that is why I would like you to join the fight against heart disease and help me raise money for the 2019 Tulsa Heart Ball.
