Ollie's Special Heart
Running with Heart
Running with Heart
Our son Ollie was born with a very rare, and very serious, CHD (Congenital Heart Defect). In his first two years of life Ollie underwent 3 open heart surgeries, 4 heart caths, and countless hospital stays in the cardiac intensive care unit. It was a very difficult time for our family (to put it mildly). During this time, I (Ollie's mom) turned to running (a lifelong hobby) to help cope with the constant stress, anxiety and trauma unfolding in our life. Today Ollie is a wild, mischievous, smart and funny almost 3-year-old little boy. You’d never know watching him run, climb and jump that he has a ‘special’ heart. Unfortunately, Ollie’s special heart will require future interventions; more heart caths and more open-heart surgeries are in his future. While we try to appreciate and cherish all the ‘normal’ times we have, we are constantly aware that Ollie still has a long journey ahead of him. The cardiac center at Children’s Hospital was our second home for almost 2 years, and we know our future will involve more time at the hospital. In honor of the amazing care we have received at the hospital, we’d like to give back in some small way. I am running to raise funds for the cardiac center at Children’s Hospital, our second home. We can never express the gratitude we have for the surgeons, doctors and nurses who have treated and cared for Ollie, but we’d like to make an effort to give back to this amazing team and center that has given us so much to be grateful for.
Children's Minnesota
We champion the health needs of children and families. We are committed to improving children’s health by providing the highest-quality, family-centered care, advanced through research and education.