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Heart Walk honoring WB boy, 6, fighting heart defects since birth
News · March 30, 2011
Most 6-year old boys finish kindergarten knowing the alphabet, how to tie their shoes and how to count to 100. But one West Branch boy at Hoover Elementary knows that and more: what pulmonary hypertension is and how a pacemaker feels.
Andrew, a son of Shawn and Tonya Samuelson, was born with congenital heart defects, surprising his parents and doctors. “We never thought we would have a child born with a heart defect, being young healthy parents with no family history of anything,” says mother Tonya.
At just 3 weeks old, Andrew had open-heart surgery to fix some of the defects in his heart. Before his second birthday, he required another surgery that left his heart beat irregular. Doctors at the University of Iowa used an external pacemaker to keep his heart beating normally. The day he was scheduled to have a third surgery to place an internal pacemaker in his chest, doctors discovered his heart was keeping a normal beat on its own and Andrew was able to avoid surgery.
Now, at 6 years old, Andrew’s fight is being honored at the Start! Heart Walk on May 7 at Lower City Park in Iowa City. The event begins at 8 a.m.
The annual event draws more than 800 walkers and aims to raise $115,500 to further the American Heart Association’s goal of reducing deaths from heart disease and stroke by 20 percent by 2020 while improving the lives of all Americans by 20 percent by 2020 as well. These goals will be achieved through a combination of prevention and research into life-saving techniques.
For more information, you may visit www.JohnsonCountyIAHeartWalk.org or call 319-378-1763 for details and registration.
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