Monday, August 26, 2013

Matthew turned 5 on August 6th and prior to his birthday on the morning of August 1st we got an
email confirming that Governor Cuomo had signed Bill # 2316 into law in New York. This was the
perfect early birthday gift for Matthew. Mandated Pulse Oximetry Screening will be enacted in 180
days and newborns in NY will be saved because of this simple test! There were many advocates
involved in NY, we were happy and honored to be amongst them!
Matthew and his brothers have had a busy summer, with trips to The Land of Make Believe with
Aunt Ginny, Lake George and Lake Compounce. We also had a Fresh Air Fund child Giovanni visit for
a week in July. He taught Matthew and his brothers how to wrestle, this could be good or bad, we
shall see!!
A few weeks ago on a quiet Friday morning, I got a phone call from someone whose life and baby’s
life was directly impacted by “Matthew and Faith’s Law”. I had goosebumps as he shared his story. It
turns out he is a journalist and he is writing his own story, he can share it much better than I ever
could and it should be in THE NEW YORK TIMES in the coming weeks. This is the kind of publicity one
could only hope for! He has been doing some research and it turns there are two other babies caught
in the State of Connecticut using a Pulse Oximetry Screening!
We are full steam ahead in the preparations for the upcoming 3rd Annual “Giving from the Heart”
Gala on Sunday, October 6th at Anthony’s Lake Club in Danbury. Our guest of honor is Kristine Brite
McCormick of Corasstory.org and we are also honoring Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and Senator
William Larkin. The donations for the silent and live auction have started to come in and I promise
you all another amazing night! The proceeds from The Gala are going directly to Pediatric Cardiac
Fellows for CHD Research in the form of multiple $2500 and $5000 grants. The recipients will be
announced in January 2014.
As always, thank you for your prayers and support and I look forward to seeing many of you at The
Gala!