If only . . . then.

I’m not big of the “if only . . . then” game. This can be played in many ways, some more trivial than others. If they had only changed the pitcher in the seventh. If we had only taken the backroads instead of the highway. If we had only gotten our baby’s heart checked.

Most of the work that we do today is focused on the hearts of students. Our regularly scheduled screenings are for students. The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act is for students. However, our story began with a baby . . . our baby.

Today, I visited the Corrine Santerian Newborn Center at Abington Hospital for the first time. Almost two years ago, we decided to provide ECG exams to newborns. Every baby seen at this clinic receives a free ECG exam as part of their wellness exam.  Nobody else is doing it, and there is no data on the hearts of newborns despite the fact that up to 15% of all SIDS deaths are attributed to Long QT Syndrome.

Today, I met Noah. He’s getting a level of care that Simon didn’t get. He’s getting a level of care that no other baby gets. I’m really proud of Abington Memorial Hospital and Simon’s Fund for being leaders in this area. Today wasn’t about asking what if. Honestly, I don’t care about the answer to that question. Today was about imagining what can and should be.