Chicago Congenital Heart Walk

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.

As you may know, our daughter Sophia Rey had open heart surgery at 4 days old and a 2nd one at 3 years old. Her congenital heart defects were detected at our 20 week scan, which gave us time to align all of the doctors and make sure Sophia got the best care once she was born. Her surgery was unique since she needed both a complete AV canal repair and a coarctation of the aorta, most surgeons will wait to repair the Complete AV canal till the baby is several months old, however our surgeon was able to make both repairs in 1 surgery.

She had surgery this past November to remove a membrane that was causing some narrowing at the aortic valve. Sophia will never be done taking care of her heart. Future surgeries for her will always be in the cards. Each year technology and medical advancements get better and better with promising research.

Please help us to fund CHD research by making a donation to our team fundraising page. Together we can make a life-saving difference.

Please also consider joining us in Chicago for the walk in person, the more the merrier on Team SOPHIA REY'S OF SUNSHINE!