Matters of the heart
As with most of the Chewylou Designs collection, the “heart” shirt is one that has a particularly personal origination for me. Hope, empathy, appreciation, resilience, trust – all are qualities the members of my family learned very early on and have always held dear.
It starts with my sister Nadine, now age 49, who was born with a congenital heart defect – coarctation of the aorta – which threatened her life. She underwent open heart surgery and the tender age of five but thankfully got through it okay. She was lucky and was only left with a big scar she can now brag about.
Then, in 1990, my sister Michelle gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Sara, who was born with a hole in her heart and thickening of the aortic arch. After open heart surgery, brave little Sara lived for 28 days but was unfortunately taken from us just one day before she was scheduled to go home and join her family. It was extremely heartbreaking for all of us but our strong family ties helped us get through this, too.
My own pregnancies with my two children were beyond nerve-wracking as we now knew our family was at high risk for congenital heart defects. I was constantly worried that something would go wrong. Thankfully, I was blessed to have two healthy, happy babies who are now growing up way too fast and are the source of so much inspiration and humor in my life.
However, the “heart” shirt was born when I was volunteering at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and met my friend Amy whose daughter Emma needed open heart surgery a few years ago. It just hit very close to home for me. But my past experiences and then meeting Emma reminded me that children so often have the biggest hearts of all, untainted by jealousy, disdain or anger. They don’t fear the unknown the way adults do and they’re far more capable of unconditional love.
A pure heart – a childlike heart – is one filled with hope; with empathy for others’ situations; with appreciation for the gift of life, love and family; with resilience to weather the tough times; and maybe most importantly, with trust. It’s the combination of all of these things that makes a heart content.
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we’ve decided to bring back the heart design. Our sales of this shirt will help us support the American Heart Association and its mission to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
If you’re interested in purchasing a heart shirt for yourself or someone you love, click here.
Hope, dream and have faith, my friends!
xo
~ Alyssa
