HLHS, TGA, PA, ASD, VSD, COA, TA, TOF, ALCAPA, AVSD, DILV, DORV, TAPVR…Looks like alphabet soup, doesn’t it? It is something much more serious than that. When parents hear a doctor label their child with one or more of these conditions, they have just stepped into the world of congenital heart defects (CHD), a world many know nothing about. Here are some startling facts. Congenital heart defects are the number one occurring birth defect. It is estimated that each year in the United States 40,000 babies are born with one of the many known heart defects. Over one million children and adults in the U.S. are living with a CHD. Each year nearly twice as many children die from heart defects than all childhood cancers combined. Why don’t people know anything about congenital heart defects? Why don’t people know about the most common birth defect killer? Many have heard of childhood leukemia, Muscular Dystrophy, Spina Bifida but not the condition that takes so many children from us. Could it be because CHDs do not have a Jerry Lewis or Marlo Thomas raising money for it? No celebrity has taken on heart defects as their pet project. Who is speaking for those born with Congenital Heart Defects? Parents who have access to the Internet will find many sites dedicated to babies, children, and adults who have a CHD. One is The Congenital Heart Information Network (CHIN), (www.tchin.org), which is a wonderful start to this connection of families. What can a group of parents, most of whom only know each other through the Internet, do to get what they want? In 1999, Jeanne Imperati, mother of a son with CHD, decided that those on the email lists supported by CHIN should all write to their governors asking them to proclaim February 14th as “A Day For Hearts: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day.” Ever since, governors across the nation have declared February 14th as CHD Awareness Day. Across the country, people will gather on this February 14th to bring awareness to the birth defect that brings so many diverse people together. They will celebrate life and will remember those whose lives were stolen by a Congenital Heart Defect. Thank You,Ansley P. Barnes422B W Taft St.Lafayette, La 70501(337) 261-1074 Answee3@hotmail.com