Well, what a great two months we have had in January and February. Matthew continues to do
great! We were able to taper his night time Lasix down to half a dose and he has tolerated it
fine. He also took his first out of state trip to Florida to visit Nana and Pop Pop for their
birthdays, he loved the pool, boat ride and the ocean. I loved hearing him laugh, after all he has
been through, it warms my heart! He is doing great in Preschool. His speech has improved
drastically and we now have conversations with Matthew and we are both a lot less frustrated!
Thank you Jill . Thank you also to Kathryn and Karen his OT and PT therapists. Thank you also to
Beth, Sue and Sue for all you are doing to help our” little man”.
Matthew was also featured on NBC 30 Connecticut with Yvonne Nava in a segment that aired on
February 20th and 21st about Congenital Heart Defects and Pulse Oximetry Screening and our
advocacy efforts. Yvonne Nava also interviewed Dr. Raul Arguello and Senator Michael
McLachlan. I am hoping to upload to the website. If for some reason it does not work, it can be
viewed on Senator Michael Mc Lachlan’s website under Life-saving test for newborns.
February has been a busy month also with Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Month and “The
Hug a Heart Pillow Project”. On February 10th, the children at The Sherman School where
Matthew goes to Preschool joined together and stuffed 188 Heart Pillows. Every class
participated and all the pillows were stuffed with lots of love and enthusiasm! A huge THANK
YOU goes out to SUE PEET for all her efforts behind the scenes to make this happen! We planned
on delivering them on Valentine’s Day but alas Matthew was sick. We will be delivering very
soon to help comfort the children at Columbia Presbyterian who like Matthew have to undergo
Open Heart Surgery.
Also thank you to Rob, Scott, Marisa and Paulette at New Milford Sports Center who helped to
raise over $300 for Matthew’s Hearts of Hope by hosting a Spinathon Fundraiser on February
25th. Thank you to all who participated, especially Beth, Lee, Sue, Greg, Laurie and Billy! Thank
you also to The Sherman Library, The Sherman IGA and Christ Church Nursery School in Pawling
and Salon De Palma for selling Heart Necklaces in the month of February!
We have a Bill in Connecticut RSB 56. I had a private meeting with both the co-chairs of the
Public Health Committee, Senator Gerratana and Representative Ritter. They are very supportive
of mandating Pulse Ox Screening on every newborn. The March of Dimes and The American
Heart Association are also supportive to this great piece of legislation. The Bill will be named
“Matthew and Faith’s Law” in honor of Matthew a CHD Warrior and his friend Faith, a CHD Angel .
We have a Public Hearing on RSB 56 on Wednesday, March 7th. We are hoping this will pass out of
Committee to the Senate and then house quickly! Lives will be saved, it is that simple!
Lastly I would like to thank Amy Bocompani for her tireless efforts to help me get more
organized. You have been a huge help to Matthew’s Hearts of Hope, Thank You! Thank you also
to Christina Crowe and Bernadette Schopfer for their help with Matthew’s Hearts of Hope
becoming a Non for Profit. Thank you also to Board Member Virginia Clerkin for working on the
Bi-Laws.
Coming soon, Guideposts has approached us about featuring Matthew and Matthew’s Hearts of
Hope in a future edition, I’ll keep you posted. As always thank you for your prayers and support!
The Hug a Heart Pillow Project On February 10th 2012 with the children at The Sherman School
Matthew, Marie and Senator McLaughlin with NBC 30 Connecticut's Yvonne Nava
