Suburban Mom Offers Heart Month Gift to Southeast Side Newborns

Taryn White knows the joyful bliss of bringing happy, healthy babies into this world. She also knows the scary walk ahead for families with a loved one living with heart disease.

That’s why White, a Business Development Liaison at Advocate Trinity Hospital, donated 50 hand-knit, red hats to help welcome newborns into the world and remind mothers to keep their hearts healthy. White knit each little hat by hand and sewed a tiny, crocheted heart onto each one.

“I feel that we all have something to give, be it big or small,” she says. “I make each hat in hopes that it keeps the baby warm, and as a reminder to the family that their community cares about them and wants to celebrate their new baby with them,” she says.

White learned to crochet from her mother, during her undergraduate years in college. However, it was her grandmother, who she affectionately calls “Sugar,” who nurtured White’s crafty side from early childhood. White says that today she crochets, knits and makes other creative projects to relieve stress.

White’s efforts support Advocate’s participation in the American Heart Association’s Little Hearts, Big Hats initiative. Through her little hats, White hopes to make a meaningful connection with new mothers and send a Mom-to-Mom reminder about the importance of heart health.

“Awareness and education are key in making sure my family can move forward making good decisions about heart health and treatment,” White says, adding that her father has heart disease and her grandfather died from complications with heart disease.

An estimated 80 percent of healthcare decisions in households are made by women, and women are more likely to take care of family members when they get sick.