A congenital heart defect is a condition present at birth. Nearly 40,000 babies are born with a heart defect every year in the United States. Data from studies show the rate of children born with a minor heart problem is increasing, and about one in four infants born with a heart defect is born with a critical one.
As a former emergency room nurse, Susie Gibbs has seen first-hand the hardship and heartache parents go through when their child is born with a heart defect. This winter, the 66-year-old from Humeston, Iowa, plans to donate more than 200 hats to the project. During the past couple years, she has crocheted more than 250 hats.
Gibbs’ husband, Butch, had both a heart attack and a cardiac arrest within a year’s time. “He’s one of the lucky ones,” she said.
Making something to support a cause feels better than giving money or attending a fundraiser, Gibbs said, because “you have something to show for what you’re doing.”
For a couple in the Chicago area, the day when their twins received red hats stands out as a happy memory during a difficult time. Samantha Behr’s twins, Scarlett and Ashton, were born premature last December. They were in incubators for more than two months and couldn’t breathe or eat on their own for several weeks.
The day the newborns got their hats, they were placed side-by-side for a photo. It was the first time the siblings had been next to each other since being born.
“It was huge, because now it felt like we had twins, not just one baby over here and one baby over there,” said the 34-year-old mother of three.
Behr said Little Hats, Big Hearts creates the opportunity for parents going home with healthy babies to learn about congenital heart defects.
“You’re taking a moment to stop and think about what might be happening to other people,” Behr said. “Even if it hasn’t affected you, [you think about] what you can do to be supportive.”
