Geneticist champions "turtle shell" to protect patient's exposed heart

Faith Habegger was born with a rare condition called Pentalogy of Cantrell. She has no sternum, leaving her heart dangerously exposed to outside forces. "A silly fender-bender could kill her," said Dr. Elle Geddes, Faith's geneticist. Dr. Geddes, with the help of colleagues and outside resources, imagined, then created a protective covering Faith now wears while performing daily activities like driving. "We tried to think of a fun name for it and it looks like a turtle shell so that's what it needs to be called," said Jenny Ruble-Guise, Faith's mom. "If there's an impact from an airbag in the car that impact would be taken by the device rather than Faith's body."