Lilly Martin, a 5-year-old girl from Louisa County, Virginia, has been named the 2026 American Heart Association’s Heart Ball Honoree. Her mother, Kelly Martin, discovered abnormalities in her daughter's heart during a 20-week anatomy scan. She was diagnosed with a transitional atrioventricular (AV) canal defect, a congenital condition involving holes in the heart and a leaky valve. At just nine months old, Lilly underwent open-heart surgery. She also lives with Heterotaxy Syndrome, a rare condition that affects her organs' arrangement inside her body. Today, doctors monitor Lilly twice a year to determine if she may eventually need a pacemaker.