Moms Reach Out to Help One of Their Own

There have long been articles of moms preying on one another like a pride of hungry – and quite judgmental  - lionesses. And yes, there will always be the great SAHM versus working mom debate.

But when a mother is need, there’s no group that will jump to her side faster or work harder for her than a pack of fellow moms.

Just ask the Greenos of Albertville, Minn.

Jillian and Lucas Greenos’ son, Wyatt, was born with a congenital heart defect (CHD), a condition that affects one out of 100 newborns. His CHD was Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped and does not function properly, requiring a series of three surgeries. If HLHS is not treated, it is 100% fatal. In January, Wyatt underwent his Stage 2 operation to correct the condition, but unfortunately didn’t recover from surgery.

During Wyatt’s time in the hospital, the Greenos had received numerous donated gifts and hundreds of prayers from around the country. The couple wanted to pay it forward by helping other families who were facing similar surgeries and immediately thought of baby leg warmers and blankets.

“When Wyatt was in the hospital after he was born, I had read of some other heart moms putting their babies in leg warmers and realized what a fabulous idea it is,” said Jillian.

“A lot of time when the baby is in the ICU, they have a lot of wires and/or tubes so they can’t get dressed. The baby leg warmers don’t usually interfere with any of the hospital equipment so they are cute, comfortable and help keep the baby warm.”

Under the name, Wyatt’s Warmth from the Heart, the Greenos and their friends planned to just throw together some gift bags for CHD patients at The University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital.

But then it went viral.

Parents lend a helping hand

In St. Louis, a friend of the Greenos, Ame Dickey, had supported Jillian and Lucas through Wyatt’s diagnosis and surgeries. After his passing, Dickey, who has a CHD herself, joined the Greenos is helping find a way to honor Wyatt, assist families and raise funds for CHD research.

Dickey, along with Greeno, Lisa Yoes from Tennessee and a handful of other friends, launched Wyatt’s Warmth from the Heart to collect baby legs, blankets and other goodies for CHD patients in Minnesota. Yoes spearheaded the Facebook and Twitter movements for the group and within one day, had accumulated 100 fans on Facebook. She also was able to pull baby leg warmer vendors on board with the group's mission.

Just as quickly, word spread through Mom-land about a family in need, and other parents jumped on the baby legs bandwagon. According to Greeno, in just a few short weeks, Wyatt’s Warmth received hundreds of baby leg warmers and blankets, including those from one Etsy store which raised $200 in donations to make leg warmers for the cause.

Dickey went to work as well, telling friends in St. Louis who then, like my friend Cassie, spread the word to their own moms groups. Said Dickey, “Many of my friends around town, colleagues, family, all have donated items or money to the group to fund purchases of items because they have kids and think that helping another family in such a situation is what humanity should be all about.”

Because of the outpouring of support from moms and dads across the nation, one little boy will not only continue to touch lives in Minnesota, but in St. Louis and the rest of the nation as well.

“My idea was just to put together a few bags for kids at Wyatt’s hospital,” said Greeno. “But the overwhelming response has me planning to give back to hospitals around the country in honor of other heart babies.”

The organization is beginning to establish its 501(c3) nonprofit status, and Dickey herself is planning on setting up a “branch” in St. Louis to help distribute gift bags to local families in the CHD community. In addition, she has sent letters to local hospitals and politicians on behalf of 1in100.org, a grassroots effort to raise awareness about CHD.

Said Dickey, “I hate that any child suffers from anything, especially something that he or she cannot fight off and win. It’s not fair that a baby has no shot at a real full life. If my CHD claimed me today, sure that would suck, but I had a shot at almost 33 years on this planet. I had plenty of time to live. Wyatt and many other babies born with CHDs don’t ever get a shot.

“There is very little funding for any sort of research for why there are CHDs and how to prevent them. And I want to change that. I don’t want anyone else being born with one, and I don’t want anyone losing a child with one.”

To learn how you can help Wyatt’s family spread the warmth to other families or to learn more about CHDs, visit the group’s Facebook page at or follow Wyatt’s Warmth from the Heart on Twitter.

By Nicole Plegge, Lifestyle Blogger for SmartParenting