CHICAGO— Jock Thorpe and his girlfriend Rosalie Black knew they had a tough road ahead when they were told their daughter Arianna was going to be born with a congenital heart defect: She has two holes in her heart.
"It was devastating and overwhelming," Thorpe said. "All of a sudden, you're doing all of this research. As a parent, it's bad enough to have one [hole], but now two. We did extensive research on where to go."
The experience made the new parents glad that baby Arianna received a red knit hat from the American Heart Association's "Little Hats, Big Hearts" program, which raises awareness about heart disease, the No. 1 killer of Americans, and congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect in America.
Black, who ended up choosing Lurie Children's Hospital, said that any support for her family from the American Heart Association is welcome: "I'm excited for her to be a part of anything that raises awareness," Black said. "This is the place she needs to be."
Heart Association volunteers knitted and crocheted more than 18,000 hats for the project, which is providing hats to newborns across Chicago throughout February, American Heart Month.
Sheniqual Henderson, whose son Ethan Chambers was born with a heart defect at Prentice Women's Hospital, said spreading awareness puts her at ease regarding her son's condition.
"It's great that the hats bring up awareness," Henderson said. "I hadn't heard much of it beforehand. Not knowing much about the disease can be scary for the parent and the child."
All newborns are receiving hats, even those who do not have congenital heart defects. Anna Li and husband Jurko Bindas, a Chicago firefighter, welcomed their new daughter Willow Foster Bindas to the world last month at Prentice.
Li said, "Even though my daughter doesn't have a heart defect, this is an important project."
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