Heart To Heart - april 7 posting

Karrine Watts



Sometimes when something tragic happens, making something good come from it, can help ease the pain.
The birth of a child is something that parents anticipate for the nine months of a pregnancy. Throughout the pregnancy, there is the excitement of meeting the baby and imagining life with that child. The days before their baby Cheyenne was born, Michael and Lori Watts could not wait for the moment that their daughter would come into the world. The nursery was ready for when they could take the new baby home from the hospital. This would be their first child and the expecting parents couldn’t be happier.
The delivery went well with Cheyenne and she was so “beautiful that she brought tears” to her father’s eyes. However those precious moments were interrupted when the doctor informed the Watts’ that their baby was having heart complications. Little Cheyenne had not shown any signs of problems with her heart during the pregnancy. This was unexpected. Cheyenne was taken to an intensive care unit away from her parents.
When the doctor returned to her anxious parents, the news was not good. The baby that Michael and Lori had long waited for had severe holes in her heart. In order for Cheyenne to even have a slight chance of survival, she would need heart surgery within the next days. A young child, just a few hours old would have to go through a major surgery. A surgery as big as the one she was about to go through, on such a small baby was extremely risky. Cheyenne had the surgery while her parents waited impatiently wondering if they would be able to see their little baby grow into a child.
Cheyenne survived the surgery but she still suffered from heart disease. Five days after her birthday, Cheyenne passed away. “It was and probably will always be the worst day of my life”, said Michael Watts. Their innocent baby lost her life after living less than a week. Cheyenne’s parents would have to leave the hospital alone and back to their home with an empty nursery. In the months that passed since the death of their daughter, the Watts’ still suffered from the pain of the loss.
Thirteen years after Cheyenne’s death, Michael was brought back in thought about the day he lost his baby. He was at a birthday party for a young boy. Michael owns a business that takes a fire truck to people’s homes for children’s birthday parties. It was at one party that he met a three year old named Tanner. During a conversation with Tanner’s mother, she informed Michael that little Tanner had heart disease. Michael then told her that he had lost a daughter to heart disease thirteen years prior. Tanner’s mom then told Michael about an organization called the Heart 2 Heart Fund. It was a fund that was founded by two mothers, one who had lost a child to heart disease and the other whose son was suffering from heart disease. Michael knew he wanted to get involved.
Michael became a big supporter of the Heart 2 Heart Fund. He named his fire truck Cheyenne which made people ask why and he would tell them his story. He also put the organization’s logo on his truck. While at the birthday parties, he would mention the fund and would ask people for donations. Michael also took part in a large banquet with his fire truck. It was a banquet was held by the Celtics because the Heart 2 Heart Fund was the charity that they supported for a year. Michael continued to help raise money so “No parent will lose their child and no child will lose their life.”
Michael was able to take his tragedy and do something that would make a difference. He was able to help effectively because of the hardship he went through.