Our son Emmett was born in March 2019 with a rare complex heart defect. At 7 weeks old he had his first surgery in Edmonton. Unfortunately, two days post-op, Emmett unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest and he spent a couple of days on life support. His complications resulted in significant developmental delays. Following his first surgery he spent 2.5 months in the hospital recovering. During that time we had a discussion with our cardiologist and learned that the surgeons in Edmonton felt that there was nothing else they could do for Emmett. We were given the option to take him home and hope for the best or to take him to Dr. Hanley at Stanford in California. Dr. Hanley is the surgeon who piloted the "fix" for Emmett's heart condition. After Dr. Hanley accepted Emmett's case we went through almost a 6 month process of getting out of country funding to cover the medical expenses for him to go to Stanford for the surgery. In January 2020, the funding was approved and in March 2020 we travelled to Stanford to complete part 1/2 of his heart repair.

To help cover some of the expenses of our trip we wanted to do a fundraiser that was meaningful to us. To support another medical twin family in our community we purchased a silicone teething ring. This toy quickly became one of Emmett's favorites as it was light and easy for him to grasp. For that reason we decided to create silicone teethers to sell as a fundraiser to help cover our family's expenses as we travelled to Stanford and also to share a toy with others that Emmett loves. Each design has been given the name of a person or place that has been significant to our heart adventure. We wouldn't be on this adventure without our little Emmett so each piece features a little trademark - a wooden heart with an E for Emmett.

Originally, the proceeds from Our Heart Adventure teethers helped support our family as we travelled to Stanford this past March and September. However, moving forward we would love to donate the proceeds to help support other medical families and some amazing Children's Hospitals and organizations that have been so supportive of our journey. Including but not limited to the Stollery Children's Hospital, Alberta Children's Hospital, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Heartbeats Children's Society and Ronald McDonald House Chaities of Northern Alberta.

-Reist Family