Turning Tragedy Into Triumph

For Mika Edwards, helping children is a gift. Edwards, a high school teacher, seems to always wear a smile on her face and have a thoughtful word of advice to give. Looking at her today, you would never know that she suffered a tragic loss just four years ago.   
 
In November 2003, Edwards learned that she would deliver a baby girl in just five months. She also learned that there was a possibility of birth defects - including a strong probability of a heart defect. Over the next few months, the cardiologists at Levine Children's Hospital (LCH) carefully monitored Edwards' pregnancy.

On April 23, 2004, Edwards felt blessed to deliver a beautiful baby girl - Maeghan Elizabeth Edwards. But after a very brief visitation with her parents, Maeghan was rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Maeghan was allowed to go home for a brief time while LCH physicians worked closely with physicians in Philadelphia, Canada and even London to determine the method necessary to repair her heart. To correct the problems, Maeghan had to undergo an immediate open-heart surgery. Though the surgery was temporarily successful, the right side of Maeghan's heart was not strong enough. She passed away around 12:30 a.m. on June 1, only five weeks after her birth.   

After Maeghan's death, Edwards decided to begin a foundation to provide support to other grieving families who had gone through what she and her family had experienced. She met with Dr. Watts in February 2005, and the Maeghan and Heidi Heart Foundation was officially formed. The foundation was named in honor of Maeghan, and Heidi - another newborn who succumbed to her heart deformities just six weeks after Maeghan.

Each year, Edwards works through the foundation and with the local community to donate items such as baby blankets, handmade bereavement gowns (all embroidered with a perfectly shaped heart), baby socks, family care bags, toiletries and bereavement boxes to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) at Levine Children's Hospital. The foundation's website includes a prayer circle, where families and even the medical team can leave prayer requests and/or condolences. With the help of her students at the Metrolina Christian Academy, Edwards has also donated more than 910 baby blankets to the unit.

Most recently, Maeghan's family created a scholarship to be awarded to a deserving high school senior who is interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. This past year, the scholarship went to Mercedes Goetting - a former student of Edwards' and class of 2007 graduate of Metrolina Christian Academy. Goetting, the salutatorian of her high school class, is currently a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She is pursuing a career as a nurse practitioner. Maeghan's family is looking forward to continuing the scholarship for years to come in honor of Maeghan's life and the doctors and nurses in the CVICU that loved and cared for her.

To learn more about the Maeghan and Heidi Heart Foundation, or to donate to its continued success, visit http://www.nhffoundations.net/MandHHeart, or email Edwards at mikaedwards3@yahoo.com.