When WubbaNub was just an idea, just a way to help one mom soothe a fussy baby there was no way to anticipate how many people we’d get to meet, lives we’d intersect with. And while many times these interactions have been of celebration and joy, we know that, for some, the beginning of the journey takes an unexpected and difficult turn. After meeting so many families and children who have dealt with (or are still dealing with) the effects of congenital heart disease we knew we wanted to be more involved.
That’s why the entire month of February we celebrate the people bringing awareness to CHD.
We kicked off this month by introducing a new member to the WubbaNub family: CHD Heart Warrior Bear and Lovey’s. The CHD Bear was first introduced last year around this time, proudly sporting his scar to show that he tackled CHD. This year, we realized he needed the right name to go with his strength and spirit. We decided on Heart Warrior Bear, in honor of all our tiny warriors out there fighting CHD. And we gave him a friend, our Hear Warrior Lovey, a dedication to all of the families who inspire us with their courage and grace.
It’s been an honor to be a part of this community. Meeting families who have been through so much and still fight so hard. We featured some of these amazing fighters on our social media accounts (follow us on Twitter and Instagram to see!) and got to attend a few events promoting awareness.
We created a special Heart Warrior Bear for our pals at the Nashville Predators, with all proceeds going to research and support at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. We set up a table and met some amazing fans and new friends of the WubbaNub Family, many of whom had battled congenital heart defects, and shared their stories with us! We also got to watch Luke Bryan sing the National Anthem before the game started! Not a bad way to bring awareness to an important cause.
Heart month is also about remembering to show love and appreciation to our family, friends, and partners. It’s easy to take the people in our daily lives for granted. Work is busy, you get tired, life is busy, you get even more tired. And even with a heart full of love for those close to you, the words can still get lost between your brain and your mouth. So this month we also took time to shout out people we love, whether on Valentines, Galentines, or just a regular Tuesday there’s never a bad time to tell someone what they mean to you. So in case we didn’t say it before, we love and appreciate all of our WubbaNub Families, who’ve brought us into their lives and shared their stories and triumphs they didn’t know were ahead. It’s been a pleasure to share these last twenty years with you.
Happy Heart Month from all of us at WubbaNub.