This five-year-old Heart Hero is David, from Heart Heroes’ hometown of Omaha, Nebraska! David was born with Transposition of the Great Vessels with four holes in his heart. This means that David’s pulmonary artery and aorta were switched within his heart (transposed), bringing blood to the lungs to get oxygenated, returning to the heart and back to the lungs without taking the oxygenated blood to the body.  Blood from his body goes to the heart and back to the body without going to the lungs for re-oxygenation.  This aspiring doctor has had two open-heart surgeries, plus a procedure to close his chest. David still has blood flowing too fast within his heart and will have a cardiac catheterization procedure in the near future to try and combat the blood flow.

For Cassie, David’s mother, having a Heart Hero means that she worries more about the little things, but also not taking life for granted and more appreciation for the time with loved ones. The Heart Hero Cape helps David’s parents illustrate to David that he is special, that he is a Heart Hero and has the power to overcome any challenges that come his way!

David’s resiliency has helped him through his CHD journey.   He is strong and courageous- and has to be, since he was named after David from David and Goliath! David beats his Goliath every day!

To honor David’s heartiversaries, the family enjoys looking at pictures from his surgeries and helping to show David just how far he has come.