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In 2007, Hearts at Play with Colin’s family established the Colin Samuel Brown Memorial Fund. This fund for pediatric cardiac research at Children’s Hospital Boston is named in memory of our “heart buddy” who passed away unexpectedly. Proceeds from our fundraising events are donated annually to the fund. Here is Colin’s story, written in his mother’s words…….”

We gave Colin his name when I was 25 weeks pregnant because it means "victorious." Five weeks earlier, I had learned that Colin had several congenital heart defects.
 
We walked through Children's Hospital Boston and met with all the doctors to get our heads wrapped around the whole thing -- as if we could comprehend a 3-day-old baby having his first open-heart surgery. The idea of the doctors working on a heart the size of my baby's fist was so scary.

Colin and his twin brother, David, were born in March of 2001 via c-section. Colin was born with several congenital heart defects: double inlet single left ventricle (DILV), small subaortic outflow chamber, restrictive bulboventricular foramen, bicuspid aortic valve, severe aortic coarctation, severe transverse arch hypoplasia and a patent ductus arteriosus. How could one little baby have so many heart defects?

After surgery, Colin was in the cardiac ICU for 10 days, mostly on sleep drugs to keep him still. When he was 17 days old, I brought him home after he successfully drank 30ml of fluid. It was all about getting enough calories into him since his heart worked overtime and burned a lot of calories.

He thrived alongside his brother, but I would worry when either one of them become sick. Colin was in the hospital four times in his first year due to dehydration and RSV. He had additional surgeries at six months of age and again at 18 months. Later, he had arrhythmia issues. He also had four catheterizations.  There were possible plans for a pacemaker in the future, but we were told to wait and see.

Colin loved racecars and monster trucks. His last days were spent fulfilling his lifelong dream of being at the Monster Truck World Finals in Las Vegas on March 25, 2006, where he had a heart attack on his 5th birthday. He passed away three days later.

Colin was funny and loving. I have never met a kinder child. We didn't know how long his repairs would last, but we were led to believe he’d have at least 30 years – and at the time, I tried not to think about it. Every time I saw that beautiful smile or his angelic sleeping face, I thanked God that He thought I was worthy enough to receive such a gift as my son, Colin.