Hey There!
Tressa here, Mom of a young heart warrior, Matthias, and mom to five more kiddos, along with one more heavenly baby. To say life is busy, is an understatement, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. My journey is a continued blessing filled with lessons and strong relationships built along the way, thanks to God!
For those of you who may not know, in 2020 when I was 24 weeks pregnant with Matthias in the middle of the COVID pandemic, I attended what I thought was a normal anatomy scan for my prenatal check up. The imaging took two hours, and because it was COVID, my husband was not allowed inside with me. I knew after the first thirty minutes, something was not right, after all,this was my seventh pregnancy, so I knew a thing or two about imaging and the time it usually takes. The sonographer left the room, came back, and replied, "your baby has something wrong with his heart, and we will need to set you up with a prenatal cardiologist to give you more information." I left the office in complete shock, and waited another painful five weeks later before the official diagnosis of Ebstein's Anomaly was confirmed, moderate-severe. Ebstein's Anomaly is a malformation located on the right side of the heart, specifically, the tricuspid valve, this ultimately leads to regurgitation of blood to the atrium (top right of the heart) and causes it to massively enlarge. Matthias also had pulmonary atresia and developed a circular shunt less than 24 hours prior to his emergency cesarean at 37 weeks.
By this time, I was well over 29 weeks pregnant with Matthias. The second scans took even longer, and once again, my husband Chase was not allowed in the room during the exam. To this day, I am saddened and angered about this. To receive a diagnosis that flips your world upside down, without your partner there to hold you up, is such a devastating and lonely feeling. I cry every time I have to think about it.
In later blogs I will go into the details of how we transferred care at 36 weeks pregnant from Florida to Maggees Women's Hospital in PA and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for the Da Silva Center of Ebstein's Anomaly. It involves me, the crazy mom, a truck, my devoted husband, and a road trip to give our son a fighting chance at life. But, for now, let me fast forward to the beautiful "Why" of our company Bright Courage.
My oldest daughter, Taryn, wanted a way to honor her brother's continuous fight and to find a way to help heart warrior families. Back in 2017, we lived in North Carolina and owned a candle company known as Soy Clever Candle Co. At this time, Taryn was little along with her siblings, and they helped with things like labeling the bottoms of vessels and eating all of our chocolate in the guest bowls we had in our candle studio (we called the candle cave since it was in a nice basement of a bridal building filled with bridal businesses). Last year, Taryn approached me about starting a new business with candles and finding a way to donate to help. So, I put my entrepreneur skills in action and helped Taryn create Bright Courage, a name she selected herself, after careful thought and planning. Taryn has such a beautiful and strong heart, and she has been through a lot as a sibling of a Congenital Heart Disease Warrior.
She donates 10% of all sales to help heart warriors, their families, and to help CICU unit of UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Furthermore, my 12 year old super star pours the majority of the candles herself, selects only the best materials: 100% natural soy, natural wood wicks not caked with chemicals, and scents and oils that are phthalate and parabben free! Taryn and I believe in the importance of healthy lifestyles, which includes the quality of candles we offer. So, our candles may be more expensive than the typical big box retailers, but they are also Poured With Purpose, non-toxic, and clean, which means safe and easy breathing for you, your loved ones, and your four-legged pets! To this day, we continue to advocate for healthy lifestyle choices, for Matthias's ongoing health (no cure for his condition), and for your health.
Thanks for reading, talk soon!
With Love,
Tressa