After losing their infant son to a rare heart defect, Chelsea and Paul Lamb founded Miles of Love to help families cover bills, gas, and food during hospital stays.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — When Chelsea and Paul Lamb lost their son Miles, who was born with a rare congenital heart defect (CHD), they were left navigating grief— and challenges they said many families of critically ill children face alone.
Now, the Virginia Beach couple is turning that experience into support for others.
They are the founders of Miles of Love, a nonprofit created in honor of their son that provides financial and practical support to families whose children are battling CHDs.
The Lambs said Miles was just five months old when he passed away on January 6, 2024.
“He was hospitalized for his entire life,” Chelsea Lamb said.
Miles had Ebstein’s anomaly, a condition that affects the tricuspid heart valve.
“It’s one in every 200,000 births,” Chelsea Lamb said. “His valve [let] too much blood into his heart. So, his heart… got really large.”
His condition required specialized care that the Lambs said prompted repeated travel from Virginia Beach to the University of Virginia for treatment— and exposed a major gap in support for families.
“We learned just how tough it was on families— all of the financial issues that you come into, the scheduling, the childcare if you have other children, and just kind of the lack of family resources outside of the hospital scope,” Chelsea Lamb said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect in the U.S., affecting an estimated 40,000 babies each year. While much of the medical care may be covered by insurance and hospitals, families may grapple with overwhelming ripple effects— including missed work, travel costs, housing, bills, and food.
That’s where Miles of Love offers help.
The nonprofit helps families cover gas, meals, groceries, and major household bills— including mortgage and utility payments— so parents can remain close to their child during treatment.
“They don’t have to say, like, ‘Where are we going to live? Do, you know, I have to sell my house? Like, do we have to sell a car?'” Paul Lamb said. “We can step in and take care of those while they’re tending to their kid.”
In addition to financial assistance, the Lambs said Miles of Love donates comfort and caregiver support items at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters.
“We… donate snack bags that they give out to parents who are bedside, blankets, and we’re starting up surgery bags,” Chelsea Lamb said. “They’ll have a little care package with just some comfort items, like a little stuffed animal for the child, a little heart pillow, gift card for the parents, snacks, that kind of stuff. And then we’re also doing delivery bags. So, the delivery bags will have, like, information of how we can help them in the future.”
The organization also donates holiday gifts to children and siblings spending the season in the hospital, coordinating with social workers to ensure gifts reach CHD patients and their families. The Lambs said they are working to expand routine support during extended inpatient stays.
They said the work is a reflection of their own journey— and by supporting other families facing complex heart diagnoses, they are able to keep Miles’ memory present and purposeful.
“Talking about him is almost like a form of, like, therapy, in a way,” Paul Lamb said. “We can share, like, ‘How’d you navigate this?’ And just knowing that his story can impact other people, I think, is what is, kind of, what’s important.”
Miles of Love is now preparing for its annual Hearts of Hope Gala in August, which falls during Miles’ birthday month. The event helps fund ongoing assistance for heart families.
If you’re interested in donating, shopping wish lists, or learning more about how you can support, click here.
The Lambs said sharing the nonprofit with families navigating a CHD diagnosis is another way to help.