Thanks! ☺️

We truly live in the dumbest of timelines. To turn one’s back on potential cures for political clout is just unfathomable. 😢😩

Thank you for sharing as well & so happy to hear your daughter is at the Fontan stage! 🤩💪🫀

If you are interested in connecting with more research info or are looking for resources, please check out Additional Ventures. They help fund my research & are an amazing single ventricle non-profit.

Atticus started my research journey & countless other stories like his have helped to sustain it. Thank you to the incredible #chd community for sharing your stories & pushing us all to continue to fight for answers! You remind us why we do what we do. 🫶

Thanks to countless teams of medical professionals at the Medical University of South Carolina, my nephew Atticus, survived 4 open heart surgeries and is alive today at 18.

Witnessing his struggles when he was just a few days old inspired me to pursue a #CHD research career.

One of the unsung heroes to #hlhs survival is Dr. Vivien Thomas. He was a talented researcher & surgical pioneer but paid as a janitor because, well…racism. Please read more about him! He was an amazing man, and though he was focused on #TOF, his shunt is a critical component of hlhs surgeries.

Without a series of 3 surgeries (or ❤️ transplant) #hlhs is 100% fatal. Surgeries didn't exist until the 1980s so the oldest patients are just now in their 40s.

World #CHDAwareness Day 🫀

Close! Crocodilians are some of the only reptiles with 4 chambered hearts, which makes them particularly cool. They have fully septated hearts, but still have "optional" blood mixing through a shunt. This feature actually helps them conserve oxygen for long periods underwater.

I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry that this is the humble brag of our HHS secretary 🙃

Can confirm. I did this with lemonade & it didn’t taste bad at all.

Wow, it’s almost like immigrants are an important part of the economic engine. 🤔

If you'd like to read more about VSDs, check out reliable medical sources, like this one at the MayoClinic: www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

or the NIH: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470...

The good news is even though #VSD are the most common #CHD, patients usually have a good prognosis.

So how do we fix a #VSD? If they are small enough, they can close on their own. However, larger VSDs usually require surgery. Depending on the situation, it can sometimes be handled via catheter.

#VSDs can be small or they can be large & can occur alone or as part of more complex #CHD. They happen in different parts of the septum & causes can range from maternal illness, medication, and/or genetics. Many times the cause is just unknown.

Posted one in the thread as well, but in case you don't see that one...