CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Heart month celebrations continue in February with Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week.

According to Project Heart, CHD is the worlds most common birth defect with 1.35 million infants born with a heart defect each year.

Lola Catron is three years old and has already had three open-heart surgeries. One of the biggest concerns both before and after surgery is infection.

Laura Catron, Lola’s mother, says she has watched other parents with CHD babies get sent to the hospital for something as small as a common cold.

One of those babies fought against a cold but died when his already damaged heart couldn’t keep up with fighting another illness.

“He overcame surgeries, and heart caths, long hospital stays, and he was taken out by a cold. His heart was just working too hard to try and fight the illness that it gave out,” Catron said.

To protect these children and other immunocompromised people, stay home when you are sick. If you have to go out, cover your mouth with a mask, use a cloth to touch surfaces, and wash your hands often.