A New Take on World Heart Day: Stories Behind the Science
Do you know what September 29th is? It’s World Heart Day! In the United States, we observe “Heart Day” as Valentine’s Day, but around the world, they reserve September 29th for remembering the organ that pumps blood throughout the body, giving us the lifeblood that allows humans to exist—the organ that philosophers and poets also curse or pay homage to. Usually, the day is full of statistics about the number of people who are born with heart problems (congenital heart defects) or have acquired heart disease.
This year, I wanted to do something a little different. If you’re here because you read my Baby Hearts Press blog post, you know that on September 27, 2025, my husband and I had an amazing experience in Denver, Colorado. We attended The Cure Gala 2025.
The ballroom of The Cable Center during The Cure Gala 2025, taken from the second floor
It was amazing to see so many people gathered to help researcher Dr. Doris Taylor and her team revolutionize heart transplantation. Currently, if a person needs a heart transplant, they are reliant on someone else’s heart to keep them alive. This usually occurs when someone dies from a car or motorcycle accident or a brain injury where the body is damaged beyond repair, but the heart is still beating. For many people, knowing that their life depends on another person dying is a concept they can’t quite get over; therefore, I’ve had friends who have chosen to pass away from their congenital heart defects or complications from living with a funky heart rather than to be put on the transplant list.
That harsh reality makes Dr. Taylor’s research feel like a miracle waiting to happen.
At The Cure Gala 2025, there were ghost heart vases on every table filled with fresh flowers. A dear friend and heart warrior, Cindy Moreland, had gifted me with a ghost heart vase a few years ago. I never thought I’d have dinner with hundreds of people where we’d each have our own ghost vase on the table.
World Heart Day is an opportunity to celebrate the heart, so having The Cure Gala the weekend before this momentous day seemed appropriate to me. Little did I know, it would also be an opportunity for me to meet a very special person who had shared his heart story with me on my podcast, Heart to Heart with Anna!
Ghost heart vase centerpiece from The Cure Gala 2025
I couldn’t wait to meet Desiree Freris, the founder of Building the Cure Foundation—the nonprofit whose mission is to help provide funding to Dr. Doris Taylor for her groundbreaking research. This is the only way we’re really going to make strides in congenital heart research because the United States government simply isn’t providing the kind of funding needed to advance research fast enough to keep up with the demands our heart warriors have for innovative solutions to their complex heart problems.
By sharing our stories with the world, and putting a face on invisible illnesses like congenital heart defects, we are helping to educate the world about the situation so many families, like my own, and Desiree’s face. Desiree is heart mom to Katerina, and like my own daughter, Katerina was born with half a heart. At The Cure Gala each year the Building the Cure Foundation honors a transplant recipient and a doctor working in the field of congenital heart disease. This year, the heart transplant recipient was Garrett Ross.
Garrett Ross video featured at The Cure Gala 2025
Desiree also agreed to join me on Heart to Heart with Anna—I can’t wait to share her why, her vision for Building the Cure, and Katerina’s story.
Little did Desiree know, there was an even older heart transplant recipient in her crowd—one who had played professional soccer and who had been a guest on my program. I didn’t realize he’d be there either! Shortly after I’d met Desiree, I saw her being approached by a smart-looking gentleman, and I thought to myself, “I know that man. I think that man is Chuck Estrada!” I stood close enough to hear snippets of the conversation—enough to confirm my suspicions!
Desiree was aware I hadn’t left, and she graciously started to introduce me to Chuck when I informed her that he’d been on my podcast, Heart to Heart with Anna! We embraced and immediately had to have some photos made to commemorate our blessed surprise meeting.
Chuck Estrada and me at The Cure Gala 2025
Whenever I have a chance to meet one of my Heart to Heart with Anna guests, it’s always a joyful occasion for me. It’s kind of like World Heart Day every time we see each other in real life for the first time. Those meetings underscore for me the importance of our podcast and how valuable it is to share these real-life inspiring stories—not just once a year, but every chance we get.
For me, World Heart Day this year has been a celebration of this fabulous gala, meeting Chuck Estrada for the first time in person, and seeing the ghost heart I’d written about so many years ago. But there’s even more to the story—the history of the ghost heart and the early research that first caught my attention back in 2013. For that full backstory and a few striking photos, hop over to the Baby Hearts Press blog.