What an exciting week! Since launching last Friday, we have been busy fine-tuning our site and social media pages (thank you all for your patience!), doing photo shoots with new products, and interacting with many of our customers. Needless to say, we’ve been kept very busy with things over here. I also had failed to mention that when we clicked the button to “launch” our CHD Warrior site last week, we did so from the hospital bedside of our own little heart warrior, Asher, who had been admitted earlier that week for a simple cold, which, as many of you heart parents out there likely already know, can be a fatal event. Thankfully, our hospital stay was only a week, though we’d be lying if we said we weren’t nervous for the upcoming sick season…
Of the many things we could include in this post, the thing that has been on our mind most relates to our most recent CHD Warrior blanket giveaway. After giving away one of our Heart Warrior shirts a few weeks ago, followed by a Heart Hero Mom shirt the following week, we thought it would be exciting to give away something a bit bigger – that everyone would be able to enjoy, whether heart hero, mom, dad, etc. The requirements for entry were pretty simple – we asked everyone to like our page and the post, and then to comment about why they’d love the blanket. We had no idea what would happen next – and let me tell you, it was something incredible.
We had over 360 people comment on the post – each one sharing with us a brief, yet touching reason as to why they could use the blanket. Throughout the day, the comments just kept coming, and Barbara and I couldn’t help but read every single one, often being moved to tears by the small glimpses of what many in the CHD community have faced, are currently facing, or will be facing in the coming days. What had started as a simple giveaway post had turned into, for us, a powerful reminder of the love and support that lies within the CHD community. We’d assume that most of those who commented don’t know each other personally – yet as many shared their touching stories about their CHD experiences, we could see others responding with words of love and encouragement, which in turn warmed our own hearts.
One of our primary goals is to help raise CHD awareness throughout the world. Unfortunately, we’ll likely never get to see most of those who order apparel from our site rocking their CHD shirts and spreading awareness in their own home towns. But the sense of support and unity we felt while reading over the comments on our giveaway post has helped us personally to feel the strength of the CHD community throughout the world. And for that, we offer our sincere thanks to each of you.
Quinten and Barbara