It is hard to believe we have reached the end of another year and are looking toward 2026. For many, the start of a new year signifies a fresh beginning, proclaiming ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ and a renewed perspective. For us heart families, the holidays and a new year often bring with them anxiety and fear, but also hope and faith.
We intimately know the peaks and valleys that come with having a child with CHD, and perhaps 2025 was a tough year filled with surgery, hospitalizations, waiting for your miracle, and with that comes renewed hope for a better 2026. Perhaps 2025 was a quieter year with more stability, less hardships and medical struggles so you are holding onto the calm within the inevitable storm of CHD, and looking at 2026 with trepidation for what the fight with CHD will bring. We as heart parents have learned to adapt, face our fears head on, fight right alongside our heart warriors because we have no other choice. If 2025 was a year of positivity, I hope the momentum continues into 2026 and beyond. If 2025 was a hard year, here’s to hoping 2026 will be gentler, kinder, to you and your family. To those who are in the midst of the storm, with the holidays looking very different to how you had pictured they ever would, I pray you find peace and happiness amidst the heartache.
Speaking from personal experience having spent previous holidays inpatient with our heart warrior, I can wholeheartedly say my perspective on the season has changed, being forced to slow things down and focus on what truly matters. There’s beauty in the normalcy when we have it, but there’s also beauty in the hardships, and I hope we all find a balance between the two in 2026 as we know, without a doubt, there will always be both.
With love,
Nicole, a fellow Heart Mom to my heart warrior son, Walker and Live4Evan alumni
