ATLANTA -- Eight year old Ava Bullard is playing with her sisters, riding their bikes on their long country driveway. It is a simple act that defies those who said she would never talk, those who said she wouldn't function in the real world.

Ava was not a typical baby, or toddler.

Her mother Anna says, "You couldn't interact with her."

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Ava did not play with toys. Did not speak. Could not dress herself. Did not interact with her parents or sisters. Slept two hours a night. She was in her own world.

Anna says, "It's like she looked straight through me. She would just...it's like you weren't there, if you were in the room with her."

Anna Bullard took Ava from doctor to doctor for months. One doctor told the family Ava was 'just weird.'

Fulton County Health Service and the Healthy Heart Coalition is supporting a range of activities in commemoration of American Heart Month this February. The Coalition’s American Heart Month activities will commence with a special proclamation at the February 6th Fulton County Board of Commissioners meeting. With the help of stakeholders, community leaders, medical experts, policy makers and grassroots organizations, the Coalition will also be supporting a range of healthy heart activities throughout the month of February.

The American Heart Association recommends we assess our risk factors for cardiovascular disease and work to keep them low. The sooner we begin reducing our risks, the longer and stronger our hearts will beat. In the spirit of American Heart Health Month, the American Heart Association encourages everyone to be aware of the following:

In recognition of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) on February 7, Fulton County Health Services will provide FREE HIV testing and counseling to residents.  NBHAAD is a nationwide mobilization effort designed to encourage African Americans across the United States to get educated, get tested, get treated and involved with HIV/AIDS, as it continues to affect African American communities.

In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded a $4.5 million grant to Fulton County to implement high impact HIV prevention programs in both Fulton and DeKalb Counties.   The overall goal of the grant is to identify more residents who are HIV infected but are unaware of their status and to link those individuals with medical services and treatment.  The CDC estimates that 1 in 5 HIV infected persons are unaware of their status.