[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 161 (Friday, September 28, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1347-E1348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN RECOGNITION OF ASHLAN BORSARI AND CHILDREN'S CARDIOMYOPATHY 
                            AWARENESS MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 28, 2018

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in sincere recognition of 
Ashlan Borsari of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and to recognize September 
as Children's Cardiomyopathy Awareness Month.
  Ashlan Borsari was diagnosed at birth with a rare, chronic, and 
degenerative heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. By the 
time Ashlan reached kindergarten, her heart had left her barely able to 
climb a flight of stairs, and keeping up with her friends was 
impossible. Ashlan underwent her first open heart surgery at the age of 
five, and for the next nine years, she lived close to a typical life. 
Unfortunately, at the age of 14, she experienced a series of sudden 
cardiac arrests which required her to be revived through CPR. Ashlan 
was airlifted to Boston Children's Hospital where doctors implanted an 
internal defibrillator.
  Children and infants diagnosed with cardiomyopathy face some of the 
worse outcomes in pediatric cardiology. Forty percent of patients 
diagnosed with pediatric cardiomyopathy die at a young age or undergo a 
heart transplant within the first two years of their diagnosis. Despite 
this, little is known about the causes of this disease and there 
currently is no cure. While there is tremendous variation in symptoms 
among the four different types of cardiomyopathy, each case poses 
enormous challenges and dangers to those who suffer from the disease. 
As Members of Congress, we need to do all that we can to get the word 
out about this little understood, yet life-threatening autoimmune 
disease.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Ashlan Borsari for her 
remarkable spirit and perseverance, and in recognizing September as 
Children's Cardiomyopathy Awareness Month. Her story reminds us that 
through education, awareness, and research, we can better understand 
pediatric cardiomyopathy. I

[[Page E1348]]

pledge to continue to raise awareness and do what I can to secure the 
resources needed to build upon the steady strides already achieved in 
understanding and finding a cure for cardiomyopathy.

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