NJ Parents Give Heart-Felt Thanks for Law

Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday is getting a heart-felt thanks from a Sussex County couple for helping to save their son’s life.

Bill and Lisa Gordon sent a letter to Christie the day their son was born. It was the same day Christie signed a law that requires hospitals to check newborns for congenital heart defects.

New Jersey was the first state to create such a law and the testing detected the defect in baby Dylan’s heart.

Hospitals must test to determine the amount of oxygen in the blood before a newborn is discharged. A low amount may indicate congenital heart disease.

The state Health Department says about 300 babies were born in New Jersey with the type of heart defect detected by the screening between 2008 and 2010.