Thank you for visiting my personal fundraising page! I am participating in the Congenital Heart Walk to support the mission of The Children's Heart Foundation: to advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of congenital heart defects by funding the most promising research.

My name is Francesca Sobrevilla but, everyone knows me as Franky. I am a Registered Nurse (RN) and I am the Pediatric Cardiac Care Unit Coordinator/Educator at Methodist Children's Hospital. I have a profound passion for patients and families with Congenital Heart Disease. Caring for these patients has been challenging, fun, and sometimes very stressful but, I wouldn't trade it for anything else. In my Educator role, I am able to provide education and training to grow nurses in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care specialty. I feel very fortunate in my position to be able to witness to both patients and nurses succeed in their journeys. 

• Congenital heart defects, or CHDs, are problems present at birth that affect the structure and function of the heart. There are many types of CHDs, which can affect the lining, blood vessels, chambers, and valves of the heart.
• CHDs are the #1 birth defect in the United States, affecting nearly 1 in every 110 babies born, equivalent to a baby born every 15 minutes and approximately 40,000 each year in the U.S. alone.
• CHDs are the leading cause of birth defect-related deaths.
• Approximately 25% of children born with a CHD will need heart surgery or other interventions in their first year of life to survive.
• Surgery can help to repair some defects, but many individuals with CHDs require additional operation(s) and/or medication throughout their lifetime.

I hope you'll join me by supporting my fundraising efforts as I work to raise funds for life-saving research.