2 At the age of thirteen, when most teens are worried about whether their friends like them or if they should try out for the softball team, Brooke was faced with undergoing a second open heart surgery.  This was a trial that she was strong enough to survive, but Brooke was unaware how much a gift from her grandfather would play a role in her recovery.  By sheer coincidence, Brooke’s grandfather had also undergone open heart surgery, and he knew that she would need some comfort during her time of healing.  Through his love and understanding of her struggle, he was able to provide her with a healing pillow.  This pillow became instrumental to her recovery, allowing Brooke to find comfort when she coughed, sneezed, or sat up to get out of bed.

After this life-altering experience, the Brooke’s Healing Heart Foundation was launched by her parents in 2016.  Since they had endured the intense anxiety of watching their beloved child undergo her first heart surgery at eight days old and the second surgery at age 13, they wanted to give back to other families around the world.  The foundation was established with the mission of making and delivering healing pillows to children and adults in hospitals to assist in their recovery process after surgery.  Each pillow is handmade by volunteers and sanitized before being sealed in a package for delivery.

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So far, the feedback has been amazing, and our goal is to help as many people heal from heart surgery through the efforts of our foundation as possible.  Since Brooke is a living example of the miracle that can be yielded from successful open heart surgeries, it gives us a unique vantage point for empathy.  It also helps us to create high-quality pillows with a great deal of love and respect for those who will be using them.  Brooke is now our greatest inspiration, being someone who is enjoying a full life after surviving two surgeries.  Thanks to the efforts of her doctors and the love of grandpa and the family, Brooke is able focus on normal life adventures like traveling with her competitive softball team.  We hope that her story is inspirational for those who have yet to undergo heart surgery, and perhaps, with enough effort, our healing pillows will find a way to their hearts.

What We Do:

At the Brooke’s Healing Heart Foundation, we make and deliver healing pillows to hospitalized patients young and old to assist them in their recovery after heart surgery.  Each pillow has been fashioned with care by volunteers and properly sanitized before getting sealed into packaging for delivery.  There is also a note of encouragement from Brooke that comes with each pillow to brighten the spirits of those facing the trials of open heart surgery.  Our volunteers have created a special edition of the healing pillow for infants that hangs over their bed in the form of a brightly colored heart to give them focus after surgery.

The positive feedback for our foundation has been amazing, and we hope to expand our efforts to more hospitals in the near future.  Our mission is to help people around the world to have a better healing experience after their open heart surgery.  We would love to hear from you after you receive a healing heart pillow, or you are welcome to share your story of triumph through open heart surgery.

Our foundation proudly provides services to the following hospitals: UC Davis Children’s Hospital and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, with a planned expansion to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.  With your donations both great and small, we will be able to provide these vital care packages to those who are striving for a second chance.

For more information visit our website www.brookeshealingheart.com