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Heart Warriors

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Dear Friends,

Do you know the leading cause of death in the USA? I’ll give you two hints:

1.) It isn’t COVID – not even close. 

2.) It has to do with Valentines Day

If you guessed heart disease you’d be correct. In my family, at 54, I have outlived all my immigrant forefathers. Most of us have someone in our family that has has some type of cardiovascular issue.  

This month we will be doing some education with videos and newsletters on heart healthy habits. We would love for you to join us as we talk exercise, omega 3s, and much more.    

Speaking of hearts, I love my staff. I really do! They have incredible hearts and like all of us, develop passions for causes that effect us. Below, our receptionist Josie Hau will share her heart story involving her daughter Maya, who needed heart surgery as an infant.

 

Hi everyone! If you come in the office on a Wednesdays, you know me! But for those of you who don’t, I’m Josie and I’ve been working the front desk at Francis Chiro for almost 4 years. My husband, Ryan, and I have four daughters and our third daughter Maya, had some surprises in store for us when she was born. When I was pregnant, everyone would ask if we were hoping for a boy or a girl, and our response was always, “it doesn’t matter as long as he or she is healthy!” except that wasn’t in the cards for us.

We found out at the 20 week ultrasound that she had a congenital heart defect (CHD) and would need open heart surgery within the first six months of her life. We also found out that she had Down Syndrome. Our whole life was changing direction and we just had to hold on for the ride!

Maya started to go into heart failure at just 5 weeks old and the medicine wasn’t slowing the process down enough, so our little girl went in for her open heart surgery at 7 weeks old. Her heart was the size of a walnut when her surgeon had to open her chest and fix her heart. Thankfully, after nearly 8 hours, she was out of surgery and we could see her. Seeing someone you love hooked up to tubes, wires, monitors, etc is heart wrenching. Seeing your newborn like that is downright awful. 

That same night at 2:00 am, while at the Ronald McDonald House, we got a phone call saying there was a problem and we needed to get back ASAP. She needed to go back to the operating room to fix a tear in her mitral valve. On Thanksgiving morning 2018, at 3:00 in the morning the entire surgical team left their families and came back to Children’s Hospital to fix my baby’s heart…again. She ended up needing another surgery just 10 days later due to another tear in her mitral valve. That surgery lasted just under 9 hours but thankfully it was her last one!

We will always be grateful for people who dedicate their lives to saving babies lives.

CHD is the most common birth defect, effecting 1 in 100 babies born but gets a fraction of funding for research. If Maya was born 40 years ago, she wouldn’t have survived, but thankfully science has come a long way and her specific heart defect has a 98% survival rate now.

I started a business called The Love for Littles where we make and sell our support bracelets for little warriors fighting big battles. For February Heart Month we are selling a “Heart Warrior” bracelet and donating the proceeds to a local non profit that is funding research into CHD in hopes that eventually all defects can be fixed!

If you want to buy a bracelet and support our cause please click here.

If you want to follow my small business on social media click here for Facebook or here for Instagram.

Here is the nonprofit Project Bubaloo where the donations will be going to.

Thank you so much for reading our story and for your support! Below is a picture of the first time I got to hold Maya after her surgeries, and the second picture is of our family now! So much can change in a short amount of time!!

Testimonial

Kurt Bassuener, President of MWS Associates, Inc.

MWS Associates has leased office space in the Business Center since the inception of our company in 2018 and from 2015-2018 with the previous company that I worked for.  The Business Center was the clear choice for us to locate our main office for several reasons: location, cost effectiveness, reliable high-speed internet, services offered and full access to the conference room.  It truly offers everything our company needs to headquarter our business from without the hassle of owning our own office building with the maintenance, yard care and snowplowing that goes along with ownership.  

A major benefit for us is the ability to host in-person and online meetings in the newly renovated, state-of-the-art conference room.  COVID changed many aspects of our business with a major increase in online meetings being one of them.  Many companies struggled with technology issues to host or participate in online meetings with poor audio, video quality, background noise and unprofessional business settings negatively affecting meetings.  The size, layout and quality of the A/V equipment of the conference room now allows us to host annual company-wide in-person meetings as well. Every October we bring our entire staff in from around the country for weeklong meetings and the conference room comfortably allows us to host 20+ people.  The setting also allows us to host on-site meetings with key accounts.  Clients appreciate being able to combine a business trip with bringing their family to enjoy a few extra days to experience all Door County has to offer.

Jeff Bruemmer

Physical Plant

Jeff Bruemmer joined DCEDC in July of 2001. Jeff is responsible for maintaining the DCEDC Business Center, located at 185 East Walnut Street in Sturgeon Bay. Jeff was born and raised in Kewaunee and moved to Sturgeon Bay in 1985.

KATHY LASEE

Accounting and Operations Coordinator

Kathy Lasee is responsible for the organization’s financial operations, as well as the operations of the Business Development Center in Sturgeon Bay. A Door County native, Lasee graduated from Sturgeon Bay High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in music with a minor in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Lasee is a charter member of the Peninsula Symphonic Band and previously worked as a music teaching assistant for the Sturgeon Bay School District. Prior to joining DCEDC in October of 2023, Lasee was the Office Manager of Kevin’s Automotive in Sturgeon Bay. During her professional career, she also worked in the loan office at Baylake Bank (now Nicolet National Bank) in Sturgeon Bay.

DEVIN VANDERTIE

Director of Business Development

Devin Vandertie enjoys working with entrepreneurs and businesses to help foster economic growth in Door County. She is also passionate about helping nurture the next generation of the community’s workforce. Devin has recently earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and is involved with Leadership Door County, which brings together professionals from diverse business sectors who are inspired to make a positive impact on the quality of life in Door County. A Door County native, Vandertie cares deeply about cultivating a community that is not only a desirable destination, but also an exceptional place to live and to work. In addition to her recent achievement of a master’s degree, Devin is a graduate of Southern Door High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Prior to joining the DCEDC staff in October of 2023, Vandertie was the Laboratory Assistant Supervisor at Door County Medical Center in Sturgeon Bay.

Michelle Lawrie

Executive Director

Michelle Lawrie has more than twenty years of experience in economic development at regional and local levels. Michelle’s career in Washington, D.C., Arizona and Wisconsin has focused on serving the public interest through economic development, issue advocacy and coalition-building. Michelle began her economic development career at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), in Phoenix, Arizona. After serving in several roles at GPEC, Michelle became the President and CEO of the Western Maricopa Coalition (WESTMARC) in western Maricopa County, Arizona. Michelle later also served as Economic Development / Community Development Director for the communities of Goodyear, Arizona and DeForest, Wisconsin. Michelle has extensive experience working in development of strategies and performance measures for communities and organizations, as well as leading teams toward achieving goals desired by communities, businesses and residents. Michelle is a native of Phoenix, Arizona, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.