Gabe Greenberg and Emma Duncan
6-year-old Gabe Greenberg was the Heart Hero of the 2022 Capital Region Heart Walk and Run. Born with Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, and Major Aortopulmonary Collateral Arteries (MAPCAS), Gabe has had two open-heart surgeries. He regularly makes videos explaining medical conditions.
12-year-old Emma Duncan was born with aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis and mitral regurgitation. She had open-heart surgery when she was four-and-a-half months old, and will need another one at some point. She will be the Heart Hero of the 2023 Capital Region Heart Walk and Run.
On Wednesday, Aug. 31, Gabe and Emma threw out two of the first pitches during the ValleyCats game.
Gabe Greenberg pitching
“We are honored to have Gabe throw out the ceremonial first pitch as he represents his Cardiac Kids peers. Each Cardiac Kid has such a unique story in raising awareness to congenital heart disease, affecting 1 in 110 at birth,” said Gabe’s dad, Michael Greenberg, senior mortgage processor at SEFCU Mortgage Services NMLS #309847, a wholly owned subsidiary of Broadview Federal Credit Union.
“I support the American Heart Association because I want to help kids with heart defects, like me,” Emma said.
“The American Heart Association funds research to improve the lives of everyone with cardiac conditions, and the Cardiac Kids are very important to us,” said Amy Young, Executive Director of the American Heart Association in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley. “We fund research about congenital heart defects, and we love seeing the full and happy lives the Cardiac Kids are living.”
The Greenberg and Duncan families