Anna Jaworski
Owner and Founder of Baby Hearts Press
Owner and Founder of Baby Hearts Press
Owner and founder of Baby Hearts Press, Anna Jaworski is the mother of a young adult who was originally diagnosed with a complex, congenital heart defect known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome. As a concerned mother, she looked for resources to help her understand her son's condition. In 1994, those resources were nowhere to be found, so Anna started writing resources and making them available to parents everywhere.
Anna's first book was Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: A Handbook for Parents. The book has been reviewed by Library Journal twice and has become a staple in many hospitals that treat children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
While preparing Alex and Joey for Alex's second open-heart surgery, Anna sought resources to help her older son, Joey. At the time Joey was a toddler and he was extremely affected by being separated from the family during Alex's first, emergency surgery. Anna hoped to find a book to help Joey through Alex’s second surgery and hospitalization. She couldn't find the resource she was looking for in print. After Alex recovered from his second open-heart surgery, Anna decided that she needed to put together a resource for families like her own. My Brother Needs an Operation tells Joey's story and also has a place in the back of the book for the reader to share his or her own experience, making it a keepsake book for the whole family.
Anna met many people from around the world thanks to the internet beginning in the late 1990s. She also helped start a support group in Austin, Texas. That support group, Milagros, enabled Anna to meet people locally who had children with congenital heart defects. With the support of fellow Heart Mom, Jane Hunt, Anna decided to publish a book for other heart mothers that told their stories. The result was The Heart of a Mother which Anna published in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Upon returning to her beloved Texas, Anna started working on The Heart of a Father: Essays by Men Affected by Congenital Heart Defects. This companion book to The Heart of a Mother contains essays and poems by over 50 men from around the world. Many of the men were husbands to the women who wrote for The Heart of a Mother so readers can see what happened to the children they were introduced to in the mothers' book. After Bob Daigneault (Anna’s father) became the co-editor, the book was finally published in 2009.
Milagros also helped Anna start a whole new adventure -- public speaking! Anna was Milagros' speaker at their first support group meeting. Since then Anna has spoken across the United States and in Canada. In 2001 Anna joined Toastmasters International and today she is a Distinguished Toastmaster, which is the highest designation any Toastmaster can earn.
Anna has written numerous articles and contributed to two medical textbooks, a nursing journal, and a cardiology journal. She has served as a witness in a federal court case. She has also had the joy of personally meeting people from around the world -- Heart Parents, Grandparents and Heart Warriors she is happy to call friends.
In July 2013 Anna got a phone call that would change her life. Josh Bernstein from VoiceAmerica called Anna to talk about the possibility of being the Host of a talk radio show. That phone call was the beginning of Anna's life as the Host of "Heart to Heart with Anna." Anna really enjoyed working with the Voice America staff but for financial reasons, she had to leave at the end of her first season.
Anna moved the entire first season of shows over to Blog Talk Radio in 2014. Anna learned how to sound engineer her own shows and published 242 episodes on that platform before moving to Spreaker. Introduced to Buzzsprout at a Podcast Movement conference, Anna decided to have her podcast available on both Spreaker and Buzzpsout.
In 2016 Hearts Unite the Globe, the nonprofit organization supporting “Heart to Heart with Anna” launched two additional podcasts and created the HUG Podcast Network. “Heart to Heart with Michael: A Podcast for the Bereaved Community” and “Heart to Heart with Nicole and David” both debuted in 2016. Anna is the Executive Producer of both podcasts.
As of 2020, the HUG Podcast Network has over 300 podcasts. There are plans to launch a podcast for the Spanish-speaking congenital heart defect community in 2021. Anna also plans on releasing at least one new book in 2021.
Anna's first book was Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: A Handbook for Parents. The book has been reviewed by Library Journal twice and has become a staple in many hospitals that treat children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
While preparing Alex and Joey for Alex's second open-heart surgery, Anna sought resources to help her older son, Joey. At the time Joey was a toddler and he was extremely affected by being separated from the family during Alex's first, emergency surgery. Anna hoped to find a book to help Joey through Alex’s second surgery and hospitalization. She couldn't find the resource she was looking for in print. After Alex recovered from his second open-heart surgery, Anna decided that she needed to put together a resource for families like her own. My Brother Needs an Operation tells Joey's story and also has a place in the back of the book for the reader to share his or her own experience, making it a keepsake book for the whole family.
Anna met many people from around the world thanks to the internet beginning in the late 1990s. She also helped start a support group in Austin, Texas. That support group, Milagros, enabled Anna to meet people locally who had children with congenital heart defects. With the support of fellow Heart Mom, Jane Hunt, Anna decided to publish a book for other heart mothers that told their stories. The result was The Heart of a Mother which Anna published in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Upon returning to her beloved Texas, Anna started working on The Heart of a Father: Essays by Men Affected by Congenital Heart Defects. This companion book to The Heart of a Mother contains essays and poems by over 50 men from around the world. Many of the men were husbands to the women who wrote for The Heart of a Mother so readers can see what happened to the children they were introduced to in the mothers' book. After Bob Daigneault (Anna’s father) became the co-editor, the book was finally published in 2009.
Milagros also helped Anna start a whole new adventure -- public speaking! Anna was Milagros' speaker at their first support group meeting. Since then Anna has spoken across the United States and in Canada. In 2001 Anna joined Toastmasters International and today she is a Distinguished Toastmaster, which is the highest designation any Toastmaster can earn.
Anna has written numerous articles and contributed to two medical textbooks, a nursing journal, and a cardiology journal. She has served as a witness in a federal court case. She has also had the joy of personally meeting people from around the world -- Heart Parents, Grandparents and Heart Warriors she is happy to call friends.
In July 2013 Anna got a phone call that would change her life. Josh Bernstein from VoiceAmerica called Anna to talk about the possibility of being the Host of a talk radio show. That phone call was the beginning of Anna's life as the Host of "Heart to Heart with Anna." Anna really enjoyed working with the Voice America staff but for financial reasons, she had to leave at the end of her first season.
Anna moved the entire first season of shows over to Blog Talk Radio in 2014. Anna learned how to sound engineer her own shows and published 242 episodes on that platform before moving to Spreaker. Introduced to Buzzsprout at a Podcast Movement conference, Anna decided to have her podcast available on both Spreaker and Buzzpsout.
In 2016 Hearts Unite the Globe, the nonprofit organization supporting “Heart to Heart with Anna” launched two additional podcasts and created the HUG Podcast Network. “Heart to Heart with Michael: A Podcast for the Bereaved Community” and “Heart to Heart with Nicole and David” both debuted in 2016. Anna is the Executive Producer of both podcasts.
As of 2020, the HUG Podcast Network has over 300 podcasts. There are plans to launch a podcast for the Spanish-speaking congenital heart defect community in 2021. Anna also plans on releasing at least one new book in 2021.
Anna was the Keynote Speaker at this conference on October 12, 2019.
Enjoy these videos from the conference.
Enjoy these videos from the conference.
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