August 27, 2015 was nothing short of an AMZAZING night! I am beyond honored to have been invited to the final home game and retirement ceremony for CHD Survivor and World Cup Champion Lauren Holiday.
Lauren was born with an Atrial Septal Defect and Pulmonary Artery Defect. She had her open heart surgery at age 3 to close the ASD and re-route her Pulmonary Artery. She is now a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and World Cup Soccer Champion! She is also an incredible human being, a good friend to everyone and a strong believer in Christ.
She is SUCH an inspiration to all, ESPECIALLY kids born with Congenital Heart Defects.
The final home game here in Kansas City was such a special night for her! You can feel the love from her teammates and fans. The world of soccer won’t be the same without her.
The folks with FC Kansas City and the fans were incredible! Lauren herself is a TRUE champion inside and out! I can’t get over how fantastic of a person she is and what an inspiration she is to our CHD kids!
I had the pleasure of meeting her parents and that really touched my heart. You can see the pride and love in their eyes for their daughter! It was very cool to stand next to a fellow heart mom and talking about Lauren in awe at the life she has lived.
The $10,000 donation from the owners of the soccer team made to my nonprofit CHD Babies and Run for LITTLE Hearts was shocking and not expected! We also had a booth at the game and sold raffle tickets for the fans to win signed memorabilia from Lauren Holiday and we raised another $5,000! Thank you to the heart families and adult CHD Survivors who came out to support us as well!
The meet and greet after the game with Lauren was outstanding! She talked with the fellow CHD Survivors of all ages and autographed everything they had! And you could tell she really really wanted to be there!
It was a very fun, very amazing, very emotional evening and I feel so honored to be a part of it! An unforgettable experience for me and I already can’t wait to be there again next season!
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