Every year, the American Heart Association’s Kansas City Heart Ball brings together community leaders, medical professionals and philanthropists for an evening dedicated to advancing heart health. This year, the event was held at the Loews Hotel and raised more than $1.25 million.
DJ Ashton Martin and The Collective. Photography provided
An event highlight is the “survivor spotlight,” a portion of the evening that focuses on positive outcomes due to advances in heart care. This year featured the story of Leo Cuba, who was born with a congenital heart defect and struggled to breathe. Cuba had to stay in the NICU unit for months to grow before he was able to undergo surgery to fix his heart and enable him to breathe on his own. The surgery paralyzed his vocal cords, so when his parents were finally able to bring him home, they were unable to hear him cry until his vocal cords healed. Today, he is a spunky and loud toddler. heart.org.
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