Welcome to Send Love to Cohen! Here you can help us mend Cohen’s little heart.


In Oct. 2009, I received a joyful phone call from one of my best friends, Megan… She was pregnant! This baby was conceived out of pure love after a long battle with PCOS. We were all over the moon happy for Megan & Brent. At 10 weeks, Baby “M” became Baby Cohen, a bouncing, happy baby BOY! Everything was wonderful and perfect, until it wasn’t… At 22 weeks, Megan & Brent were devastated to find out that their little Cohen has CHD, Congenital Heart Defect. He has four defects to be exact; four defects that individually are manageable, but that together are very rare and very dangerous. Thus, our friends began on the long journey to fix Cohen’s broken heart. It is a journey that will take them away from their friends and family to have Baby Cohen at the best children’s hospital in the country. It will be a journey of several open heart surgeries and great expense.

If you have landed on this blog it is because you've heard about baby Cohen and the fight his family is facing to hopefully mend his little heart. The family is being surrounded with love, support and prayers, and they are all eternally grateful. There is so much you can do to help through prayer, support and donations. Many of you have contacted Megan about making donations to help. Her friends and family have created some ways for you to help, they are listed below.


Read more about Cohen's story HERE.


Visitors that have made their way here from the invitation to Penny's Baptism please click HERE. Thank you so much!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Congenital Heart Defects in Children Fact Sheet

What is a congenital heart defect?
Congenital heart defects are structural problems with the heart present at birth. They result when a mishap occurs during heart development soon after conception and often before the mother is aware that she is pregnant. Defects range in severity from simple problems, such as "holes" between chambers of the heart, to very severe malformations, such as complete absence of one or more chambers or valves.

Is all heart disease in children congenital?
No, but most is. These defects are usually but not always diagnosed early in life. Rarely, heart disease is not congenital but may occur during childhood such as heart damage due to infection. This type of heart disease is called acquired; examples include Kawasaki disease and rheumatic fever. Children also can be born with or develop heart rate problems such as slow, fast, or irregular heart beats, known as "arrhythmias".

Who is at risk to have a child with a congenital heart defect?
Anyone can have a child with a congenital heart defect. Out of 1,000 births, nine babies will have some form of congenital heart disorder, most of which are mild. If you or other family members have already had a baby with a heart defect, your risk of having a baby with heart disease may be higher.

How many people in the United States have a congenital heart defect?
About 650,000 to 1.3 million Americans have a congenital heart defect. Approximately 36,000 babies are born with a defect each year.

Why do congenital heart defects occur?
Most of the time we do not know. Although the reason defects occur is presumed to be genetic, only a few genes have been discovered that have been linked to the presence of heart defects. Rarely the ingestion of some drugs and the occurrence of some infections during pregnancy can cause defects.

How can I tell if my baby or child has a congenital heart defect?
Severe heart disease generally becomes evident during the first few months after birth. Some babies are blue or have very low blood pressure shortly after birth. Other defects cause breathing difficulties, feeding problems, or poor weight gain. Minor defects are most often diagnosed on a routine medical check up. Minor defects rarely cause symptoms. While most heart murmurs in children are normal, some may be due to defects.

How serious is the problem?
Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect and are the number one cause of death from birth defects during the first year of life. Nearly twice as many children die from congenital heart disease in the United States each year as die from all forms of childhood cancers combined. In 2005, 192,000 life-years were lost before age 55 in the United States due to congenital heart disease. In 2004, hospital costs totaled $2.6 billion.

Are things improving?
Definitely. Overall mortality has significantly declined over the past few decades. For example, in the 1960s and 1970s the risk of dying following congenital heart surgery was about 30 percent and today it is around 5 percent.

How well can people with congenital heart defects function?
Virtually all children with simple defects survive into adulthood. Although exercise capacity may be limited, most people lead normal or nearly normal lives. For more complex lesions, limitations are common. Some children with congenital heart disease have developmental delay or other learning difficulties.

What is the social/financial impact of congenital heart defects?
Successful treatment requires highly specialized care. Severe congenital heart disease requires extensive financial resources both in and out of the hospital. Children with developmental delay also require community and school-based resources to achieve optimum functioning.

What is the impact of congenital heart disease on families?
The presence of a serious congenital heart defect often results in an enormous emotional and financial strain on young families at a very vulnerable time. Patient/family education is an important part of successful coping.

Where can I get additional information?
You can get additional information from the American Heart Association. You can reach them by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1 (1-800-242-8721) or at www.americanheart.org/children.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Coming Soon

Coming Soon:

Send Love to Cohen Foundation-
Paypal Button

Mailing address for packages and donations