Bakersfield toddler benefits from annual American Heart Walk

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Kern County. You can help fight it this weekend in Bakersfield.

Twenty-month-old Reid Peterson's squeals of excitement don't give any indication of how close his heart came to failing a few months after he was born.

"I was shocked. I had all the prenatal tests and everything came back fine. I had no indication that anything was going to be wrong," said Heidi Hafenfeld Baker, Reid Peterson's mother.

"It was just a blow to the stomach. It left me breathless," she continued.

Reid was born with a rare congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot.

"The oxygenated and non-oxygenated blood was mixed and he would then get a mix of that blood into his body so he had low oxygen levels," said Barker.

At four months old, Reid had open heart surgery.

"The surgery itself was seven hours. Very long hours. The longest day of my life for sure," explained Barker.

"Coming into his room after the surgery, nothing could prepare me for what I was going to see," she explained.

Reid barely filled the hospital bed. His tiny body was covered with tubes and monitoring equipment.

"It's mind blowing how you can go from so sick to so healthy and an active toddler," said Baker.

Sixteen months later, Reid doesn't slow down a bit. "He's going to lead a normal life," she continued.

"Before I had Reid, when I would have thought about the American Heart Association, I thought it was limited to people who had heart attacks and strokes. I never thought about those children who were born with congenital heart defects," she said.

That is why Reid's family is involved with the Bakersfield Heart Walk. Money from the annual fundraiser goes to research and treatments for heart defect and heart disease patients. Anyone can participate in the event.

"It's not just the overweight and the old. It's babies. It's children. It's going to affect somebody in your family at some point," said Tim Terrio, Vice-Chair, Bakersfield Heart Walk.

Heart disease is the nation's number one killer. Kern County has the most deaths in California.

"We're at the bottom of the list. Partly due to the fact that our adults are 60% overweight and obese and we don't get enough activity," he continued.

Hundreds will help Saturday when they lace up their sneakers to take steps in the fight against heart disease.

The Bakersfield Heart Walk starts at 8:00 AM at the Cal State Bakersfield Amphitheater.  The fundraiser benefits the American Heart Association, America's leading researcher of heart disease.

For more information or to sign up, go to