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Current EvENTS

HEarts of Promise

Brighter Futures for Baby Hearts

Dear Friends of Hearts of Promise,

I want to personally thank each of you for your support of Hearts of Promise and for Dr. John Mayer’s research at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH). As many of you know, Dr. Mayer is my cardiac surgeon and has performed all of my open-heart surgeries at BCH. Not only did he save my life, but he has dedicated his life to research for the treatment of congenital heart defects. When I was just 10 months old, my family established Hearts of Promise, a non-profit foundation, to raise funds for Dr. Mayer’s research and to raise awareness of the need for research for the treatment of congenital heart defects. I am now 17 years old and am a senior at Prattville High School. As many of you know, my last trip to Boston Children’s Hospital was in November of last year for a surgical catherization procedure due to decreased blood flow through my valve/conduit to my left lung. I am grateful to everyone who prayed for me, and I am thankful to Dr. Mayer and Boston Children’s Hospital for their commitment to research for the treatment of congenital heart defects.

Hearts of Promise recently received a letter from Dr. Mayer informing us that he is retiring from surgery and is now devoting all of his efforts to his heart valve tissue engineering research. Dr. Mayer and his research team are nearing clinical trials for technology to grow heart valves from a child’s own tissue so that the valves will grow with the child’s body and will not calcify over time, thus eliminating the need for multiple open-heart surgeries. Currently, thousands of children with congenital heart defects have to undergo many open-heart surgeries to replace valves and conduits that they have outgrown or that have calcified over time.

With your help, Hearts of Promise has raised over $200,000 for this life-changing research. My family and I, through Hearts of Promise, continue to be committed to raising funds for Dr. Mayer’s important research in order to prevent thousands of children with congenital heart defects from having to undergo countless surgeries and procedures throughout their lives, as I have. We have held many fundraisers over the years, from cookbook sales (which are still available) to heart walks, to our current fundraising letter campaign.

We are reaching out to you now to ask that you consider making a tax-deductible donation to Hearts of Promise to support Dr. Mayer’s promising research. As you know, 100% of all funds raised go directly to Boston Children’s Hospital. Hearts of Promise is a 501(c)(3) organization, so all donations are tax-deductible. As he states in his letter, Dr. Mayer and his team are nearing clinical trials, but more funding is needed to help this technology become a reality. Although congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect, occurring in nearly 1 in every 100 births in the United States, research into the treatment of congenital heart defects is extremely underfunded.

As I mentioned before, I am now a senior in high school and feel very blessed to be a living testimony to God’s grace and goodness. God has performed many miracles in my life, and I am very grateful to Him. I am thankful to all of you for your many prayers on my behalf. God answered those prayers in a big way! I am very active in school and in church and have many sweet, caring friends and family who support me in all that I do. I plan to attend Auburn University next fall. Please continue to pray for Dr. Mayer and his research, for me, and for all children and adults with congenital heart defects.

We plan to mail a check to Dr. Mayer at the end of the year from donations we receive. All donations, no matter the size, will be greatly appreciated! You may donate by visiting www.heartsofpromise.org and clicking on the “donate” button on the left, or by mailing your donation to: Hearts of Promise, P.O. Box 681070, Prattville, AL 36068. Thank you again, for your prayers and support.

With Much Love,

Holly Turner, Tracy and Candace (Saunders) Turner, and Wayne and Carolyn Saunders

(334) 361-0071 / (850) 638-4640