Venezuela Heart Nonprofit: Estrellita de Belen Foundation

Why would someone born with a heart defect in Venezuela who has moved to the USA care about children born with heart defects in her country today? How can one woman make a difference in the lives of children living in a dictatorship? What is the most important thing Belen Blanton has learned since she started her international nonprofit organization?

Belen Blanton was born with tricuspid atresia in Caracas, Venezuela back in 1965. When she was born, many doctors told her mom that she was not going to make it. Fortunately, her mother took her to a cardiologist that had contact with Houston Children's hospital in Texas, where she had surgery, a Potts Shunt procedure performed by Dr. Denton Cooley.  

From age 15 she began to experience complications including arrhythmia. When she was 21 she moved to the US and from age 30 experienced atrial fibrillation, endocarditis, Eisenmenger Syndrome, and pulmonary hypertension. She is married with two sons and has recently started a charity to help those living in her home country of Venezuela. She believes her life has been a gift and she has felt a need to give back to others in her country by creating a nonprofit organization called ‘Estrellita de Belen Foundation.’

 Links mentioned during the episode:

Belen's "Heart to Heart with Anna" episode: 'Heart Warrior from Venezuela to the USA'

Belen Blanton's foundation
Fundacion Estrellita de Bele

Belen's IG page, 'You Don't Have to Look Sick' 

Adult Congenital Heart Association 

Hearts Unite the Globe

Global ARCH

Conquering CHD

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Transcript

Venezuela Heart Nonprofit -- Estrellita de Belen Foundation

Belen Blanton  00:00

I want people to know that CHD is everywhere. These kids need a chance, and with so little money we can help.

Anna Jaworski  00:17

Welcome to "Heart to Heart with Anna." I am Anna Jaworski and the host of your program. I'm also a heart mom. My son Alexander was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and he has had three open-heart surgeries. He is my inspiration and the reason I am the host of your program. Today's show is 'Venezuela Heart Nonprofit: Estrellita de Belen Foundation' and our guest is Belen Blanton. We'll start today's program by learning a bit about the Venezuelan doctor Belen and her foundation has been working with and in the second segment, we're going to talk to her about how the foundation works and a child who has been helped by her organization. And in the final segment, Belen will tell us about what she has learned in developing an international nonprofit organization. Belen Blanton was born with tricuspid atresia in Caracas, Venezuela, way back in 1965. When she was born, many doctors told her mom that she was not going to make it. Fortunately, her mother took her to a cardiologist that had contact with Houston Children's Hospital in Texas, where she had surgery a Potts shunt, performed by Dr. Denton Cooley, from age 15, she began to experience complications including arrhythmia. When she was 21. She moved to the United States and from age 30, experienced atrial fibrillation, endocarditis, Eisenmenger syndrome, and Pulmonary Hypertension. She is married with two sons and has recently started a charity to help those living in her home country of Venezuela. She believes her life has been a gift, and she has felt a need to give back to others in her country by creating a nonprofit organization called Estrellita de Belen foundation. Also, Little Star of Bethlehem Foundation. Welcome back to "Heart to Heart with Anna" Belen.

Belen Blanton  02:17

I'm so happy to be here with you. I love your program. I love everything you do, and I love you giving me this opportunity for me to speak about that CHD is worldwide. And it's not just here.

Anna Jaworski  02:33

Exactly. Yes. I can't wait to get into this with you. Belen, I'm so impressed with everything that you have done. We know from your bio that you were born in Venezuela, but you had your open-heart surgery here in the United States. Can you tell us when you decided to start an organization to actually help children in Venezuela?

Belen Blanton  02:54

By being me here in United States for 35 years. And all the time that I was here I was doing okay, when I hit my 20s and my 30s, my health started to decline a little bit. So I had to go to transplant. Of course, I was denied on my transplant because my liver is messed up so I can have a transplant. So I wanted to do something. I didn't want to feel the weird person. So I joined the Adult Congenital Heart Association. And for many years, I worked with them, I did a lot of charity, work with them and help everything went to all the walks went to the events that they had the conferences and all that. Unfortunately, I had to stop working. I was working in Citibank. My doctor told me that I had to be disabled, I couldn't work anymore. So being in my house, not knowing what to do, thinking, "I don't know what to do." I'm the one who thinks that if God has you here, even with this illness, it's because you have a mission. Right? So I open my private channel in Instagram called 'You Don't Have to Look Sick'. And then I just had to talk to people. It was amazing. One day, this lady wrote to me and said, "Hey, I'm from Venezuela, and my son has the same thing that you do. I don't know what to do." And I said "I know some cardiologists in Venezuela" because for many years, I met most of them, even that I've been here 30 years. So I told her about this cardiologist that he's an electrophysiologist and her son has the surgery, but he didn't make it. So it was like, Oh my god. This is something that I can do. Help people to tell them what to do and where to go.  When she called me and told me that her son died, I just say I have to do something about it. So I call the son of my cardiologist because he's a pediatric cardiologist. And he treats congenital heart defect disease. I spoke to him and he said, "Belen the situation in Venezuela is terrible." "I'm trying to help everybody." There are more than 4000 children in Venezuela, they are born with a congenital heart defect. And just 5% received the proper care. We had public hospital that is supposed to be a hospital for cardiology, but because of the situation of Venezuela with the new government, and part of it is kind of dictatorship. They took over all that. And it's like, they do whatever they want. So I decided I'm going ahead and do this. So here's where I started with the paperwork. It was tough, because everything I had to do myself. I had to learn all that by myself. But that's what I wanted to do. I just thought, "Oh, my God. Finally, finally, I found my purpose in life." I can help. But I didn't know what journey I was going to encounter.

Anna Jaworski  06:25

Yes, starting a nonprofit is not for the faint of heart isn't my dear?

Belen Blanton  06:30

No, it's not easy. But it has changed me a lot. I love everything I do. I love what I do for them. It's just amazing.

Anna Jaworski  06:41

I feel like when I met you, Belen, you are a little rosebud. And I feel like over the years that I've come to know you and work with you, I'm watching that rose, bud open and bloom. It's been so beautiful to see.

Belen Blanton  06:56

Oh, thank you very much. Well, I have learned a lot from you. And all the people they heart warriors, and many people that have helped me and wants to know what I'm doing. So that's very important for me.

Anna Jaworski  07:14

Belen it seems from what you have just shared with me that the public hospitals in Venezuela just are not equipped to deal with children with complex congenital heart defects. So can you tell me how you got connected to the private hospital that you're working with? And the doctor that you're working with?

Belen Blanton  07:35

Believe it or not, I think that that was an angel that was sent down to me. I opened my Instagram account for the foundation. And I started with just medical appointments. I have met children that they have like, two years that they haven't been to the cardiologist. Sometimes I'm like, "How can these children be alive?" I met a child that he has Tricuspid Atresia. He never had anything, no even shunt, and he is still alive. It's just like, WOW. So this doctor start to write to me, he was like, "Hey, how you doing?  My name is Dr. Finizola. I was looking at what you do. And I would love to work with you." And that's at that private hospital in Venezuela in Barquisimeto, which is one of the second most important states in Venezuela. We started talking he told me "the only thing that we do just procedures."

Anna Jaworski  08:43

So this doctor reached out to you on Instagram, because he saw your foundation. And he started to tell you about his practice and some of the problems that he was having. When you say that they were only doing procedures. What I'm guessing you mean is not surgical procedures?

Belen Blanton  09:02

They do ablations, catheterizations, balloons. They put Amplatzers. They do all that stuff but open-heart surgery, they don't have the availability to do it right now.

Anna Jaworski  09:16

Okay, so they can do interventional cardiology, which is a cardiology that's done in the cath lab, but they can't do the actual open-heart surgery. Okay, well, it's much more complicated. With open-heart surgery, you also have to have the anesthesiologist, you have to have somebody to work the cardiopulmonary bypass machine. It's much, much more complicated. Okay.

Belen Blanton  09:38

Well, they still have all this available, it's just that right now they want to make sure that they will be able to be successful with that...

Anna Jaworski  09:48

Sure

Belen Blanton  09:48

...and I don't think that they have all the equipment that they need...

Anna Jaworski  09:52

Sure

Belen Blanton  09:52

...however, they receive a lot of help from a lot of people in the United States at this private hospital. So this doctor has become our hero. He's Dr. Finosola. He's an electrophysiologist; he's a cardiologist, too. He wants to help the people, like for example, he will go ahead and tell somebody, "Oh, you're going to need a procedure. You're going to need a device" and the device is like $2,000, but then he will go ahead and give it in a lower price. They try to work with the patients because in Venezuela the minimum wage is $1 a month.   

Anna Jaworski  10:40

Oh, my goodness!

Belen Blanton  10:42

$1 a month

Anna Jaworski  10:42

Wow.   

Belen Blanton  10:43

So how can these mothers raise $40,000, $50,000 for an open-heart surgery? It's impossible.

Anna Jaworski  11:05

This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The opinions expressed in the podcast are not those of Hearts Unite the Globe, but of the hosts and guests and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to congenital heart disease or bereavement.

Rejoiner  11:56

You are listening to "Heart to Heart with Anna." If you have a question or comment that you would like addressed on our show, please send an email to Anna Jaworski at Anna@HearttoHeartwithAnna.com. That's Anna@HearttoHeartwithAnna.com. Now, back to "Heart to Heart with Anna"

Anna Jaworski  12:15

Belen, tell me about your first successful procedure with a child in Venezuela because I know this is such a special story and in the first segment, you were telling us that they're limited with some of the procedures they can do, but they are saving lives. So tell me about that first success story.

Belen Blanton  12:33

Oh my gosh, that was the most beautiful thing. It was a little girl. She was six years old. She has a Wolff-Parkinson-White. And for five years, she was taking Amiodarone. And her mother contacted me through Instagram. And she told me, "My baby hasn't been able to go to the doctor since 2015." The baby was so beautiful. So I'm like, "Okay, let me go ahead and speak to the doctor and see what we can do." When I told him that he was Wolff-Parkinson-White he told me, "Oh we do this procedure here, don't worry." And I'm like, "Okay, doctor, but I need to make sure that I'm going to have the money to be able to pay you and he said, "Belen, don't worry, I trust you. I know what you're doing is for the kids." "We're gonna do it. And you can, when you're receiving your donations, you keep paying me. But we're gonna give them a very good price. So she will be able to have her procedure." So she went there. And she got her procedure. The mother sent me a picture when she was going inside the OR. And all the doctors around her --everybody saying, "Thank you Estrellita De Belen." 

Anna Jaworski  14:07

Did you cry, Belen?

Belen Blanton  14:09

Awww, yes, I did! You need to know that now she is great!

Anna Jaworski  14:17

Okay, so when you say she had a procedure, for those Listeners who don't really know what Wolff-Parkinson-White is... it's an electrical problem in the heart so I'm assuming she had a pacemaker inserted?

Belen Blanton  14:31

No, what they did is (uh)...

Anna Jaworski  14:34

an ablation!

Belen Blanton  14:35

 ...an ablation, exactly.

Anna Jaworski  14:36

Okay. So they did an ablation. And what's really scary with people with Wolff-Parkinson-White is that they can seem perfectly normal and then they can faint, just like that! And they can actually pass away. They can end up having an electrical disturbance in the heart that is fatal. So it's critical that they be seen regularly by their cardiologist and if there is an interruption in that electrical signal, if they can go ahead and do an ablation so that problem with the electrical signal does not cause the person to die, that's huge! That's just huge! And a lot of times they're able to do ablations nowadays and they don't have to have a pacemaker or a defibrillator inserted which is, if you ask me, Belen, that's a miracle!

Belen Blanton  15:28

Yeah, it was amazing. We have done a lot of ablations in Venezuela, those kinds of procedures. The public hospitals don't do that.

Anna Jaworski  15:40

Really? They're not doing ablations in the public hospitals? So you have to find a private hospital. 

Belen Blanton  15:46

Yeah, because they don't have the machines or the machine doesn't work. I mean, can you imagine you going to a public hospital, they tell you, "Oh, we can't do that to your daughter because we don't do that here, find someplace else"

Anna Jaworski  16:00

 It's heartbreaking 

Belen Blanton  16:00

And then go to a private hospital and they tell you," Okay, your ablation is $10,000." How (is) that mother that lives in the middle of nowhere, will be able to get $10,000? It's impossible.

Anna Jaworski  16:13

 Sure. 

Belen Blanton  16:14

But I'm telling you and then see her that she was doing okay. And everything was great. And then she took a picture of her with an Estrellita De Belen logo. And then she put "Thanks to you, I'm alive."  Ah,

Anna Jaworski  16:34

Oh, Belen! It makes it all worth it -- all the paperwork that you have to fill out to get your 501(c)3 and the rejections that you have, because you will. You'll be asking for things that people will not always be able to say "yes." Although how can anyone say "no" to Belen Blanton? I don't know. But I just love that. So this woman found you by Instagram. Is Instagram the best way for people to contact your foundation?

Belen Blanton  17:03

Well, right now, we update our website, which is fundacionestrelittadebelen.org There, they can send me a message. I have Instagram. I have Facebook; I have Twitter. This is the most beautiful thing because I want it to be different than everybody else. Most of the foundations, you don't know the people you help. And then you're helping but you don't know who are you helping? No. I know all the mothers. I know all the kids. I know the names of the kids. The kids send me messages all the time.

Anna Jaworski  17:43

I love all the pictures on your website, Belen. It's a beautiful website.

Belen Blanton  17:48

I talk to the mothers all the time. We do so much stuff. And then on top of that I have the most wonderful volunteer in Venezuela. She's a mother of a heart warrior. This mother has taken this job with a lot of passion, just like me. And it's been amazing. Then the other day, we have this girl that she has Wolff-Parkinson-White too, and she got into the hospital. And then the mother, I'm sure she found me through Instagram, whatever. She wrote to me through WhatsApp and, "Oh, Ms. Belen, can my daughter be in your foundation?" She was going to turn 15. In Venezuela, the sweet 16 is when you're 15, quinceañera. So they have a little party for her and they made a dress and everything but she was sick, very sick. So we gave her her ablation. And then the day that she had her quinceañera she took a picture with her beautiful gown and sent it to me, saying, "Thank you, Ms. Belen for everything that you have done."  So when you think about 'Oh, this so difficult!' 'Why people doesn't donate?' 'What's going on?' And you see that? That goes away. It's like it doesn't matter. You just continue to do what you have to do.

Anna Jaworski  19:19

 I just love it. Well, how can people contribute to the foundation, Belen?

Belen Blanton  19:25

Everything that I have done so far is through crowdfunding. Our website, we have a place that you can donate. We have a GoFundMe account that they gave me the charity account.

Anna Jaworski  19:40

Great. So we can go ahead and put the link in the show notes. So anybody who would like to donate they can do so very easily either in our show notes or on your Foundation website. Is there a certain amount Belen that will cover a procedure? Like if somebody donates $1,000 can they feel like, 'Oh, well, I know for $1,000, I was able to cover this particular procedure.'

Belen Blanton  20:07

With $1,000 that would be more than half of the ablation. The private hospital that I work with, they give me the ablations for $1,500. 

Anna Jaworski  20:22

It's amazing. 

Belen Blanton  20:23

Yeah, that doctor and all the doctors, all the hospitalists, the name is Ascarido. It has a lot of history in Venezuela as one of the best hospital for electrical with their heart. They have been so wonderful. They're things that when you need to put an Amplatzer, or you have to put like a balloon, of course, the surgery will be a little bit more expensive.

Anna Jaworski  20:50

Sure, because they have to have anesthesia, they have to have more people there. And they may have a longer recovery as well...

Belen Blanton  20:58

And they need the device!

Anna Jaworski  20:58

 Yeah, plus the device, right? There's a lot to consider.

Belen Blanton  21:02

I have other angels. I met a nurse... she works, I think it's New Jersey. She donates things that the lab is gonna throw away. What they do in Venezuela? Sometimes with the caths, they wash it, and then reuse it too, for another patient. It's that bad!

Anna Jaworski  21:24

That's unbelievable. And scary. And yet, they're so thankful to have something durable enough, I'm sure that can withstand that. And I'm sure it goes through a process of sterilization too. But we are so lucky here in the United States, we don't realize how lucky we are with the resources we have.

Belen Blanton  21:45

When they're gonna throw away all these things that they think that they don't need anymore, she asked if she could send it to me. And there are medical things that I can send to Venezuela. Of course, is like, "Oh my God!" Everything that they receive, I think, is like I'm giving them gold.

Anna Jaworski  22:05

 Sure. 

Belen Blanton  22:07

When you have a pacemaker, if an old person have a pacemaker, and that old person dies, they remove the pacemaker so they could put it to somebody else. It's that way, Anna.

Anna Jaworski  22:20

Sure, I completely understand.

Belen Blanton  22:24

I just want these kids (to have) a normal life. And I want people to know that CHD is everywhere. These kids need a chance. And with so little money, we can help.

Anna Jaworski  22:38

Well, speaking of that we know for $1,500 that will pay for an ablation. Is there a minimum amount of money that will do good for your organization, because maybe not everybody who wants to donate has that much money,

Belen Blanton  22:53

My love at this point, even a dollar. For me, everything that I receive, even if it's $10 $1, everything makes a difference. For example, I have people that donate milk. Because there's no milk in Venezuela. So these children are with no nutrition. If they don't have the proper weight, they can't have their surgery. So on top of that, I have to send formula, milk and we do that. If they can help to pay for the things that we ship to take there. We have a shipping company that is giving us a break. It cost money to send all that stuff there. 

Anna Jaworski  23:41

Sure 

Belen Blanton  23:42

They give us a very good deal. They know that what we want to do is help the children and that's why for us any kind of money is important.

Baby Hearts Press  23:55

Anna Jaworski has written several books to empower the congenital heart defect or CHD community. These books can be found at Amazon.com or at her website www.babyheartspress.com. Her best seller is "The Heart of a Mother: An Anthology of stories written by women for women in the CHD community." Anna's other books "My Brother Needs an Operation," "The Heart of a Father," and "Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: A Handbook for Parents" will help you understand that you are not alone. Visit babyheartspress.com to find out more.

HUG Info  24:37

"Heart to Heart with Anna" is a presentation of Hearts Unite the Globe and is part of the HUG Podcast Network. Hearts Unite the Globe is a nonprofit organization devoted to providing resources to the congenital heart defect community to uplift empower and enrich the lives of our community members. If you would like access to free resources pertaining to the CHD community, please visit our website at www.congenitalheartdefects.com for information about CHD, the hospitals that treat children with CHD, summer camps for CHD survivors, and much, much more.

Anna Jaworski  25:11

In this segment, Belen, let's talk about what you've learned in creating an international nonprofit organization. What's been the most difficult lesson that you've learned?

Belen Blanton  25:23

I think that the most difficult lesson is that people are still very ignorant about Congenital Heart Disease. Congenital Heart Disease is totally invisible. If they don't see the kids in pictures, or they're dying of hunger, or they have illness that you can see, they don't help, because they think the child is okay. But they're not. So that, for me has been the hardest thing. And the other hard thing has been that I have to educate these mothers. Every time that their kids have a procedure, they say, "Oh, my son or my daughter already have a healthy heart." No, it's not healthy. It's renovated, but it's not healthy.

Anna Jaworski  26:19

I love that it's renovated. That's the first time I've heard that expression. You're right though, it's renovated. It's not the same underneath, they have some extra stuff on top. I love that.  I think 27 years ago, when Alexander was first diagnosed, and we were facing the surgery, I was doing a ton of research. And I kept reading the word 'palliate,' or 'palliative care' and I didn't understand what that meant so I asked my son's doctor, "What does this mean?" And he said, "What it means is we're doing the best we can Anna, but it's not completely fixed."

Belen Blanton  27:01

 Exactly.

Anna Jaworski  27:02

And I think all these parents want to believe, 'Now that my child's had this procedure, they're fixed!' so that they don't have to worry about what tomorrow holds.

Belen Blanton  27:13

 Yes. 

Anna Jaworski  27:14

But that's just not the case.

Belen Blanton  27:16

And they start to live their life like nothing happened and this is the fight that I'm having with my mothers there in Venezuela. It's like "No, your son doesn't have a healthy heart. No, he or she will never have a healthy heart." They did something that it will help, you know, to live a better life...

Anna Jaworski  27:40

 Right 

Belen Blanton  27:40

...but there are a lot of things that are coming with that. I have the case of a mother that the son has TOF and he was almost dying. Finally, they did a palliative thing. And she's like, "Oh, my son is already, healthy heart." Every time I talk to her, and I tell her something, I can feel that she's mad at me.

Anna Jaworski  28:07

She's resisting the fact that you're telling her her son is not completely fixed.

Belen Blanton  28:12

Exactly. 

Anna Jaworski  28:12

For those listeners who don't know what TOF is. TOF is tetralogy Of Fallot. And it was often called Blue Baby Syndrome. And I can understand this mother is elated, because now her son who probably was blue, probably had to squat every now and then just to get the breath to be able to move, has had a procedure and now has pink lips, and now can walk across the room without feeling faint. And so of course, she wants to feel that he's fixed. But I think it's very courageous of you Belen, to educate these mothers, because they have to be the children's advocate. And you don't want them to be broadsided with the fact that something else could happen later on and how important it is for them to continue to have appropriate care for that child.

Belen Blanton  29:07

Yeah, it's hard, but I keep doing it because I think it's what we have to do.

Anna Jaworski  29:14

Yeah, well, you're being the mother's advocate too. And the father's advocate as well as the child's advocate. And it helps for them to talk to somebody who's an adult who was born with a heart defect who did have a procedure but who has had a number of complications. Your own story is a huge inspiration Belen 

Belen Blanton  29:35

Thank you. Like I say, "This is my mission in life. Every night before I go to sleep I just ask God, "Please give me more life so I can give more life these children.""

Anna Jaworski  29:47

Oh! I love that. So Belen, I can totally see you doing that every night.  Let me ask you something because I know when I started my nonprofit organization, one of the things that was really hard for me was that people would come and ask me for things that was not part of my nonprofits' mission. So you're communicating with these people in Venezuela, it wouldn't surprise me if you had people from Chile or from Brazil or from other places, contact you. Can you share an experience with me where you actually did have to turn somebody away and what you learned from that experience? 

Belen Blanton  30:23

Aye, yeah, it's being hard! There are a lot of surgeries like single ventricle, like very complicated surgeries, they don't do it in Venezuela. In fact, if a child were born with TGA, that child has the days counted. In my foundation, we already have 15, to die. Most of them was TGA. So, it's just horrible. A lot of mothers goes to Colombia. Colombia has a lot of good doctors. And a lot of Venezuelan doctors have moved to Colombia because of this situation. 

Anna Jaworski  31:10

Oh, wow. 

Belen Blanton  31:11

When I sign for this, I sign it right now for Venezuela. However, because all the things that is happening, I want to do more. But right now I'm concentrated in my country.

Anna Jaworski  31:27

Okay, so I know that you've been working with Global ARCH. And you've been working with Heart Unite the Globe, what other nonprofit organizations have you been working with? And what have you learned by working with other nonprofit organizations?

Belen Blanton  31:43

Well, with Global ARCH, I learned one of the most important lessons -- that CHD is worldwide. We are so blessed in this country. So many people, sometimes they can't see that. We're so lucky. I have met a lot of people from India, from Korea, from Middle East, aye, Peruvians. These people in Africa, you just want to sit and cry. 

Anna Jaworski  32:20

Yeah,

Belen Blanton  32:20

 But they have an advantage that I don't have. They can receive help from outside. An American doctor can go there and help. We can't do that because we are in (a) dictatorship. As a matter of fact, and this is something that has been very hard for me, we are a sanction country here in United States. But I know that people, they're starting to notice that it doesn't matter where you (are) from. It doesn't matter who you are. If you have a CHD you should help. We should help everybody. And this is one of the things that I want to, especially to the doctors here in United States that have come in from Venezuela. And now they have a great job here. And they are cardiologist, I want them to remember that the children in the place that they were born are suffering. And I'm not going to ask for money. I just want if we can create something together. We can help. Unify us and try to help all these children. I have learned so many things with you. First of all, I learned a lot about my condition. I learned a lot about other people's life. I learned that life can be tough, but we're lucky. And for me, it's to know that I'm so lucky living in this country.

Anna Jaworski  34:13

We are very, very blessed. And I love the fact that you and Marta Montero and Jennifer Iguina have all cohosted a program for parents of children with congenital heart defects in Spanish. Have you gotten much feedback from the people that you service? Have they been listening to your programs? Does that help them?

Belen Blanton  34:41

Yes, it helped them a lot. We had a program that I think it was one of the most beautiful program when from a lady from Ecuador. Her baby died, and it was the most beautiful program. I mean...

Anna Jaworski  34:56

And I didn't even understand all the words but I was crying anyway.

Belen Blanton  35:00

You learn a lot when you hear the other stories. The good thing about it is that right now, like for example, I have to recognize my CHD community -- the people from ACHA has helped me. The people from Conquering CHD have helped me. I had group in CHD that are a younger generation. One of the guys did a birthday fund for the foundation to his birthday, so his parents gave him all the money to the foundation. And then he said that if he makes more than $500, he will go ahead and paint his nails. Like do, challenges.

Anna Jaworski  35:50

 Sure. 

Belen Blanton  35:50

And then I have another girl that did the same thing. The birthday fund. Then I have Amanda Harper, she's from the Conquering CHD. She had a BINGO for the foundation. I can't tell you how blessed I am.

Anna Jaworski  36:09

All the money that Belen takes in, not to mention her husband's and her own contribution, all goes straight to the foundation and you don't see that every day. It's the same way with Hearts Unite the Globe. I don't take a salary, Belen does not take a salary. We just put all the money that we earn straight back into helping other people. and that's one of the things I love about you, Belen. I do believe you have found your God-given mission, and you are an angel to so many people. Thank you so much for coming on the program today, Belen. It has been a joy to talk to you and to learn about your beautiful organization.

Belen Blanton  36:51

It's amazing that I have the opportunity to be able to talk about my foundation and about all the things that we want to do and to let everybody know these children deserve to be children. They deserve to have a life other than being in a hospital all the time. And the mother suffering. And I have had a transformation on myself. For example, I love to go shopping. And I love fashion. But since I started the foundation, I'm like, "I have everything I need. They don't." When I go to the Mayo Clinic, and I see the way that I (have) been treated, that breaks my heart -- thinking that my kids will never get that treatment. And that's what I want for them. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing.

Anna Jaworski  37:52

Well, I think what you're doing is magnificent. And friends, I will have links to all these different organizations that we have mentioned they'll be in the show notes but I am so sorry to say that that does conclude this episode of "Heart to Heart with Anna." We'll have to have Belen come back later and tell us some more success stories because I know she has some beautiful stories to share with us. If you have enjoyed this episode, why don't you consider becoming a Patron for me or for Belen? Either HUG or for Estrellita De Belen, you know that your money is going to help people in the Congenital Heart Defect community. And right now we're actually working with Estrellita De Belen to create hardcopy materials in Spanish because not everybody in Venezuela has access to the internet. So Belen and Hearts Unite the Globe are working together to create some materials that we can pass out to people so they understand the warning signs of congenital heart disease. So Hearts Unite the Globe is working with Belen's group. All of us want the same thing -- we want to give children with congenital heart disease, another day and a quality of life. Remember my friends, you are not alone.

Conclusion  39:10

Thank you again for joining us this week. We hope you have been inspired and empowered to become an advocate for the congenital heart defect community. Heart to "Heart with Anna" with your host Anna Jaworski can be heard every Tuesday at 12 noon Eastern time.