Georgia boy is now "Brayden super-heart hero" thanks to CMN Hospitals

Donate $1, $5, $20 or more at all Love’s locations coast to coast

"He calls himself Brayden super-heart hero!"

James and Rebekah Simpson first learned their newborn son Brayden would overcome challenges on his second day of life. The doctors found a heart murmur. They ultimately learned Brayden had a congenital heart defect (CHD).

“You can imagine the shock and worry that overcame us,” Rebekah said. “We had no prior knowledge of birth defects. We didn’t even know what CHD was or stood for.”

Doctors suspected the hole in Brayden’s heart would close, but at 2 years old, he was still struggling to breathe. After doctors learned that his heart was enlarged, a decision was made to operate.

Brayden went in for open-heart surgery on Sept. 24, 2010, at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

The procedure was a success! However, Brayden’s heartbeat didn’t return as doctors had hoped it would, so a pacemaker became part of his life.

The Simpson family is incredibly grateful for the care they received at the Atlanta-based CMN Hospital.

“CHOA has the best doctors and staff,” Rebekah said. “They are so personal and feel like family! They support not only your child but your whole family in mind, body and spirit.”

Brayden sees all of the same doctors, and Rebekah and James love that the doctors get to see him grow up!

Thanks to the financial support of people like you, Brayden is a healthy, vibrant, comedic and outgoing boy! He loves playing with his siblings, golfing, creating things with Legos, going to museums, and of course…anything to do with superheroes!

Brayden super-heart hero and his family want to raise CHD awareness and encourage others that they can have a success story, too, because of CMN Hospitals.

“We wanted to give back because we were so grateful to CMN Hospitals like CHOA for helping our son,” Rebekah said.

Love’s fundraising campaign for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals lasts from August 25 to September 30. Team members at more than 350 Love's locations nationwide will be asking you to buy Miracle Balloons for $1, $5 or $20 -- and every dollar helps! You can even check out dozens of fundraising events going on coast to coast.

Brayden is one of thousands of kids who are proof that your help truly matters. 

Together, we can make miracles happen.