This post was written by me through an activation with HireInfluence on behalf of BIOLIFE4D. Although I received compensation for participating in the campaign, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

ACTS OF “HEART” Acts of Kindness for American Heart Month

February is here. For a lot of folks, that means planning for Valentine’s Day, romantic dinners, flowers, and other acts of love.  But for those who have a less than healthy heart, it also has a different meaning. February is American Heart Month, and that means a time for raising awareness and supporting research for the care and keeping of the human heart. Heart disease is an equal opportunity disease that impacts men, women and children. With over 600,000 folks waiting and hoping for a heart transplant each year, and only about 5000 available hearts for transplant, anyone can see that there’s a huge imbalance that leaves a lot of folks waiting and getting sicker, or worse. It leaves me heartsick, and wanting to DO something.

The number of families who are impacted by heart disease is astounding. I’m willing to guess that each of you reading this has somehow been affected by it, and likely will be again. I still remember the day my friend Becky left college, mid semester- we were hanging out in her dorm room, a typical Thursday night, and there was a knock on the door. It was her uncle, coming to tell her that her father had died of a heart attack a few hours prior. No one saw it coming, least of all Becky. She never did come back to school again, except to get her belongings from the dorm. One knock on the door and her life was forever changed.

 

My niece’s dad had a series of heart attacks, a few years back. We were out of the country when it happened and didn’t know until we returned-he’s recovered, and is monitored by his physicians as well as working to be as healthy as he can be so that he sticks around for as long as possible.

 

I think one thing that really ‘gets’ to people is when they learn about children who have these illnesses. A kid in need of a transplant tugs on our heart strings like nothing else can- with social media, many of us learn the stories of kids who are sick from groups on Facebook, etc. Parents share their stories not just to keep friends and family informed but also to help raise awareness about the harsh realities (and little blessings too) of having a sick child.

It’s hard to want to do something to help and not knowing what to do. For today, in this moment, I can make a card or several, and send them along…and I can also share this post with you to help raise awareness. For a longer term way to help, I can make donations to organizations that are dedicated to helping those with heart disease to live longer, healthier lives.

For those of us who are living in a world with healthy hearts, we can take a little of our time and send a little love to someone else, someone less fortunate than us. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we all took a few minutes to pick up a card to send to a sick child in the hospital?

Ready to join us in the ACTS OF “HEART” kindness challenge?

All cards should be sent to:

Texas Children’s Hospital
ATTN: Volunteer Services
6621 Fannin Street, Suite A1125
Houston, TX 77030

Send one, five, ten or twenty. Your choice- just send. Please just be sure to share and tag some friends and use the #BL4DActsofHeart hashtag to help raise awareness! I am challenging Jen from The Rebel Chick to take part next!

Build A Heart Save A Life – BIOLIFE4D from BIOIFE4D on Vimeo.

So what exactly is BioLife4D, and why are they wanting to challenge folks to the ACTS OF “HEART” anyway? Well, the short answer is that they are a company is working to make bio-printed organs. They see the lack of hearts available for sick patients of all ages and know that with science and technology, they can help to get more new hearts into those 600,000+ waiting patients.  They are a company invested in the future of medicine, particularly the changing of how heart transplants are performed. They can make a working, beating heart from a patient’s own cells.  Those endless immuno-supressant drugs that most transplant patients need to make sure their body doesn’t reject a transplanted organ aren’t needed because the new organ is made of their own cells and is a genetic match.  That’s the super simple way to explain it- you can learn more over at BioLife4D’s website. It kind of seems a little sci-fi, doesn’t it? It amazes me that we’re in the time that technology and science can help us to create organs that will function and help to heal the sick!  

See how you can help to make these bioprinted hearts a reality here. Biolife4d is having an equity crowdfunding campaign where the general public can buy shares and join their mission to saves lives.

 

Follow, like, and share with friends and family to help support and join BIOLIFE4D’s journey!

 

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