BOSTON — On January 4, Shannon and Justin Pierce celebrated their son Hunter’s, third birthday.
The little boy loves, in no particular order, the color green, dinosaurs, and building things.
Hunter’s boundless curiosity keeps Mom and Dad busy, and they are so grateful for every minute of it.
“Three years ago this week, our son was born with a congenital heart defect unknown to us until he was born,” Justin Pierce, Hunter’s Dad told me.
Moments after Hunter Pierce was born in Boston, Mom and Dad were plunged into a health crisis.
It was quickly decided that Hunter needed open-heart surgery, and through a snowstorm, Justin rode with his newborn, from Beth Israel Hospital to Boston Children’s Hospital.
Shannon could do nothing, but recover from childbirth.
“It feels totally out of your control. There is nothing that you can do, other than let the experts do what they do best,” Shannon said.
Children’s Hospital Cardiologist Dr. John Kheir was one of the experts the Pierces relied on.
“Hunter had a congenital heart defect which caused the blood in his body to circulate in an abnormal way,” Dr. Kheir explained. “His oxygen levels were very very low. Shortly after birth. It’s a heart defect that really requires surgery in the newborn period.”
Hunter not only survived, he thrived in that first year.
And then, life hit the Pierces hard again.
One year after Hunter was born, Shannon discovered a lump on her breast.
At 30 years old, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which required surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
Like her little boy, Shannon survived and thrived.
She has written a series of illustrated self-published children’s books, called Hunter’s Hurdles, based around Hunter, to help other families facing similar scary scenarios.
“Honestly, it was therapeutic for me to write out these,” Shannon explains. “Hopefully, it can help any other young family facing a similar diagnosis.”
Money raised from the book series is donated to the Dana Farber Hospital.
And for Dr. Kheir’s cardiac unit and Boston Children’s Hospital, the Pierces are giving back in another way.
This weekend, the Pierce family is hosting their third annual Heart and Soul Fitness Fundraiser.
In previous years, it was an in-person event with SoulCycle and so far they have raised $30,000.
This year, Covid-19 is forcing the Heart and Soul Fitness Fundraiser to be a virtual event, but Shannon and Justin are as enthusiastic as ever.
“You should leave the world better than how you found it. This is our small way of trying to do that,” Justin Pierce told me.
If you would like to help out, click here.
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