When Ashlie Bundy found out her baby Cooper had a heart problem, it hit her like a ton of bricks. “I just thought, you are kidding me,” said Ashlie. Cooper’s pediatrician detected a problem during a check-up. Soon Cooper was having open heart surgery to repair holes in his heart. Although Ashlie said she and her husband had plenty of support from family and friends, she felt somewhat alone. “Of course they were there for us to vacuum our floors, bring us dinner. But they don’t know how I feel. They can’t know how I feel,” she said.
That feeling of being all alone was the same thing feeling Carolyn Quigley had years ago, when her newborn daughter Hope underwent surgery for a heart defect. Carolyn, who at that time was a first time mom, was overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking home a newborn, fresh out of surgery. Quigley’s daughter only lived a few months and after she got over her pain, she did not forget that feeling of loneliness. She helped found Intermountain Healing Hearts. “It’s about parents helping other parents,” she said of the group.
Intermountain Healing Hearts is a volunteer, non-profit group. IHH serves families who are in the hospital with a child who is having heart surgery. Quigley said the group’s mission is simple: “The goal is for families to know they are not alone. That there are other families who have been there.” Quigley said often, families whose children have heart surgery make an unexpected, fast trip to the hospital. Some parents travel from neighboring states and have no time to pack clothing. Often those parents have no idea what the surgery will be like and they are not familiar with complicated medical terms and procedures. IHH visits the parents at Primary Children’s Medical Center. The volunteers lend the families in the hospital an ear, they provide food and help them find a place to sleep (if they are from out-of-town). The group also has a “goodie” bag with things like snacks and even socks to keep mom’s feet warm in the hospital room. The group has also written a handbook that explains surgery, after care and other important information to parents. Quigley said the group’s volunteers will be as involved as the family wants.
For Ashlie, the involvement was limited, mostly calls to check on her family and Cooper, but those calls were invaluable to her. Cooper, who is almost two, had another heart surgery the second week of March. Mom reports he is doing well.
For more information go to: www.intermountainhealinghearts.org
Ashlie Bundy makes heart-themed jewelry to help IHH. More information at: www.thehopefulhearts.com
