To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

DURHAM — A nationwide traveling quilt made a stop at Duke Children's Hospital to bring awareness to a special group of people.

The patches honor people born with Congenital heart defects, a leading cause of infant death. According to the CDC, about 40,000 babies are born in the U.S. with a heart defect each year.

"I had heart surgery like the other kids," said Sydnie Smith, 7, who saw her heart-shaped patch in the quilt for the first time.

Her family watched Sydnie endure three surgeries. Now, Sydnie loves playing with her big sister.

"You'd never know they have a problem,” said Dr. Piers Barker, the director of Duke Children's Hospital fetal cardiology program. “They look like any other child. they're active they play."

However, Barker said mending hearts has gotten smoother with the advancement of medicine.

"There's really almost nothing out there now, even the most severely complex heart, that we can't do something to help fix," said Baker.

"It's amazing to see what they can do now when 15, 20 years ago they probably couldn't have done anything for her," said Shannon Smith.

Toddler Ethan Mullis also received a patch at Duke Children's Hospital.

"This little tiny baby, straight out of open heart surgery, really fighting for his life,” said Ethan's mother Joye Mullis. “And then to see him running and playing and acting like a typical three year old boy, it really does my heart good."

Seeing the quilt hanging in the hospital lobby makes Mullis realize her family is not making the journey alone.

"I don't think people realize how many children are affected by this disease each year and what it's doing to our babies in the process,” said Mullis.

There are numerous CHD awareness traveling quilts. Each patch represents 42 people from around the world. The quilt's visit at Duke Children's Hospital coincides with CHD awareness week which is Feb. 7- Feb.14.

For more information about the quilt, click here