When we found out about Gus’ CHD, we were devastated. And helpless.  And just plain terrified.  

We weren’t thinking about the 1 in 100 probability of being born with a heart defect, or possible genetic causes or long term outcomes.  

We could only think about what we stood to lose and  “Oh my god, can we fix it?”

Over the next few days we were introduced to Dr. Emile Bacha who calmly, confidently and in clear detail described everything in Gus’ treatment plan and assured us nothing would be left to chance.

True to his word, from the very second Gus popped into the world he was swept into an efficient machine led by Dr. Bacha with the sole goal of saving his life and giving us a life with a most vibrant and beautiful child.

The mission of the Children’s Heart Foundation is:

To advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of congenital heart defects (CHDs) by funding the most promising research.

Gus’ smiling face is here in part because of Children’s Heart Foundation fundraising!

Our surgeon, Dr. Bacha has twice had research funded by the Children’s Heart Foundation in both 2007 and 2008.

Ten years before Gus was born, before Gus was even a possibility, Dr. Bacha was exploring ways to better the outcomes of children’s heart surgeries and was awarded funds to redesign training programs for surgical teams related to human factors in the operating room.  

Thanks to donors like you, ten years before he was born, the ball was rolling towards a better outcome for Gus and for us.

Thanks to advances made through research, death rates from CHDs in the U.S. have declined by 37.5% in the last two decades, yet CHD research is highly under-funded relative to the prevalence of the disease.  

Now it’s our turn to keep up the positive momentum!

Join TEAM GUS in our 7th year in the fight against CHD!  We’re happy to be participating in the Cincinnati Congenital Heart Walk supporting the Children’s Heart Foundation on Saturday, August 3rd, 2024 at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Come walk with us, join our fundraising team, make a donation or just spread the word about the impact of CHD.

If you’d like to make a donation, you can click on the link on this page. Your tax-deductible gift will absolutely make a difference!

Thank you to all the past members of TEAM GUS and our new friends who are helping the Children’s Heart Foundation keep the ball rolling!

With Gratitude, 

Matt, Michelle, Ruby and Gus