Paul and I (and Caden) had a meeting with Teri, the director of the Start! program of the American Heart Association about 6 weeks ago. I have not blogged it yet, don't know why.
Anyway...
Paul and I are the proud parents of the 2010 poster child for the American Heart Association's Start! program! What does this mean, you ask??
Well... Several things. Caden (we) will go around to several (8?) of the large corporations here in the Wichita area (Cessna, Boeing, Hawker...) and give presentations on what it means to have a child affected by CHD. We will be able to show pictures, tell his story and show everyone (mainly execs) how amazing modern medicine is, and why they should donate to heart disease research.
Our family will be featured on the commercials on channel 3 (KSN) for the Start! Heart Walk that takes place next June. Caden will be on the brochures for the AMA, along with a condensed version of his story. He will also be on their website, as the "focus survivor".
Needless to say, we are very excited about this opportunity, as only one child or person gets picked per YEAR. I think he's just the man for the job.
On a side note: A parent on the Online Truncus group did not like the fact that we are participating in an organization that does not fund "much" to congenital heart disease research. Well... I have done some researching of my own, and what she said really bothered me. We have decided that all of the funds raised on Caden's behalf will be specifically donated to such research. I have found that I can designate where our donations go, and thus, I am pushing it all that way.
I hope you all have your DVR's set! :) I'll let you know when to be looking out for our little hero on the telly and the web. :)
