MOOSIC -- A boy living with a heart defect inspired others to take laps around the ballpark in Lackawanna County.
The Northeast PA Heart Walk kicked off Saturday morning at PNC Field in Moosic with participants walking to help raise awareness for heart disease.
5-year-old Matthew Mursch of Scranton represented local people dealing with heart disease. Mursch was born with that heart defect and has undergone multiple open-heart surgeries since his birth.
"I'm looking forward to just being able to walk around and make new friends," said Julia Poutz of Swoyersville.
"I'm happy to come today because I thought it would be nice to help out," said Annabella Piczon of Forty Fort.
Mursch had open heart surgery when he was just 7 days old. He has had two more since then and is a living testament to the efforts to treat heart disease.