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Tymeless Heart: Big Support for Tiny Hearts

When Beth Brown warns me that she “might tear up” as she begins to tell a story, I tell her that it’s okay.  “I’m a mom myself,” I say.  In fact, it is all that I am able to say at the moment.

As we talk, Beth tells me of her son, Ethan.  “He was a special boy,” she says.

The fact that Ethan was special is of no doubt, but it is evident from just a short conversation with Beth, that his apple didn’t fall far from her tree.

Her passion for giving back to a community of parents and families that often suffers so greatly is immeasurable.  The spectacular thing is that Beth doesn’t see it as giving back at all.

“When a heart family says thank you to me, I turn around and say, no thank you,” Beth tells me.  “I wish they understood how much it helps me to do this in Ethan’s honor.”

Ethan was born in 2006 and passed away later the same year from complications of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital heart defect.  As she and her family fought to save Ethan’s life, Beth recognized others in the same situation.  “I saw other families, I saw their need,” she says.

It is a burden that is often so great—according to the Tymeless Hearts website “this year over 35,000 babies will be born with a congenital heart defect and 3,500 of them will not live to see their first birthday”—and one that Beth is committed to easing, one “heart family” at a time.

Beth founded Tymeless Hearts to serve as a full-scale support system for families with children like Ethan.  With him, she and her family had to travel back and forth to Nashville and Michigan seeking the best healthcare options.  She knows first hand how travel expenses can add up.  She also knows very well how medical costs can mount for tests, surgeries, procedures and hospital stays.  In additional to financial support, Tymeless Hearts provides an emotional support system for families through support groups and 24/7 guidance.

“When their baby’s in the hospital, sometimes parents may not even know where they will get their next meal,” Beth says.

She tells me of one recent incident, where even the simplest act on the organization’s part was a real lifesaver for a “heart family.”  Beth says she saw a post on Facebook reporting from one of their “heart moms” that her GPS system had been stolen from her car.  “Not a big deal to most families,” Beth says.  “But this mom was panicking because that’s how she got directions to get her child to and from her medical appointments in Nashville.”  Tymeless Hearts stepped in and bought her a replacement GPS, just in time for her daughter’s next appointment.

There are countless stories just like this.  Jimmie Hornbuckle and his wife Sarah have been part of the Tymeless Hearts community since their daughter Kaeliegh was born five years ago with 12 different heart defects.  “We’ve had lots of ups and downs,” Jimmie says of his daughter’s illness.  Throughout them, Tymeless Hearts has been beside the Hornbuckle Family.  The group helped Jimmie and Sarah provide Christmas gifts for their children last year and even helped out with their electricity costs during an especially rough patch in Kaeliegh’s illness.  “They are wonderful people,” Jimmie says of Beth and her network of volunteers.

The Tymeless Hearts network keeps growing and expanding, reaching out to more and more “heart families.”  Beth began the organization in her hometown of Murray, Ky., but it has expanded to other cities in Kentucky and even across the nation.  A Tymeless Hearts chapter in Florida will soon host their first fundraiser and chapters in Chicago, New Hampshire and Virginia are coming soon.

When asked about the future, Beth doesn’t hesitate before saying that she wants to “continue to grow.”

Beth knows that continuing to grow the network means more families can benefit from knowing that while they are working to heal a heart, someone has their back.

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