The Scholarship: Shortly after Matthias’s funeral, Danielle and Jonathan had dinner with their close friends Ryan and Tasha Wines. Like so many others, they vowed to keep Matthias’s memory alive. They came up with the idea of establishing a scholarship fund in his honor.

One thing the Maloofs discussed with Ryan and Tasha is that when a family is hit with a crisis or tragedy, the ones who can often get overlooked are the siblings. Siblings are the ones who have to bear the brunt of the family crisis. They are the ones getting carted from place to place, woken up at odd hours, left with family members or babysitters, or they themselves have to be the ones in charge. Yet with everything they go through, they don’t complain because there’s no room for it or simply because it’s all they’ve ever known. They go with the flow because their sibling’s survival depends on it, they step up when called upon and often don’t even understand the importance of their role in everything. Through all of the chaos and heartache, they hurt just as much, all while taking on the burden for the entire family.

“Whenever we are in the hospital with Remington, I think about my healthy boy Elwood at home and I just have to assume he is okay, because all I can focus on is my other baby who is sick. I assume Elwood is safe and being loved by family and friends, but if I take a step back, I know he misses us. He misses being together as a family, he wonders where his brother is and how he is doing.”

In realizing the crucial role of siblings in CHD Families, The Maloofs and Wines set up the Matthias Parke Maloof Scholarship fund to honor siblings who sacrifice so much for their families. Although Matthias isn’t here with us physically, he is just as much a brother to Remington as Elwood is, which is why we want to use his memory to help other brothers and sisters of CHD warriors.

This scholarship will serve to honor siblings who represent love of family, unity, strength, courage, resilience, perseverance, sacrifice, honor and hope. Each year we will select a sibling, or group of siblings, who represent all of the above. Save the Heartbeat will present them with a monetary reward in honor of our precious angel, Matthias Parke Maloof.

We had several nominees and when we read through all of them, the decision was unanimous that this group of 4 siblings is something special. They all do their part to help their parents, help with chores, work hard in school, and do it without complaining! They are a wonderful and strong group of siblings. It is Save the Heartbeat’s distinct honor to award this year’s Matthias Parke Maloof scholarship to the Espinosa family. Congratulations Antonio, Leah, Angelina and Rey.