“I kept taking her picture, scared it could be the last one. I counted every eyelash, perfectly placed on her eyes. She would be the first on the West Coast to have this surgery. I didn’t want to let her go because then the decision would be final.”
‘Is it the right decision?’ They came to take her. I stood, paralyzed, and watched as she disappeared. There was debilitating fear.’: Girl with Down syndrome survives new heart surgery, ‘She’s one of the first to have it’
‘Your heart is abnormal.’ I sent emails for a month with no reply. I already fainted at work and threw up blood.’: Woman with congenital heart defect shares struggles, ‘Keep fighting, warriors’
“I was constantly having hot flashes. I ended up throwing up blood and fainted at work. ’Go to Urgent Care.’ They weren’t really sure what was causing my problems. I was constantly waiting in the doctor’s office to get bad news.”
‘Why even have a baby shower?’ They were preparing us for a burial. At 12 hours old, he was on life support.’: Woman gives birth to baby with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, ‘He is a miracle’
“‘We need your permission to do whatever it takes to save your son’s life.’ I took one look at him and vomited. All I can remember is watching the nurse methodically pump a bag, breathing life into my son one squeeze at a time.”
“My husband felt something was amiss. ‘Nothing’s wrong!’ I said. Soon after we were living our nightmare.’: Mom of baby born with congenital heart disease says ‘you must be their advocate’
“’Don’t forget about the echo.‘ It hung in the back of his mind. She stopped breathing in her sleep and the nurses banged on her chest. I thought it was all behind us, but his gut was right.”
‘You aren’t leaving without delivering.’ I sat in disbelief. After 7 days of life, they cut into his side.’: Woman gives birth to baby with CHD, ‘We are blown away by his strength’
“I was recovering from birth while walking from the parking garage to my baby multiple times a day, changing my pad in a hospital bathroom, setting alarms to pump. I mustered up the strength to sit at a hospital, postpartum, while my 1-week-old baby had his chest cut open.”
‘Oh no!’ I cried. I thought this only happened in movies. The doctor said, ‘I’m so sorry.’: Mom describes having Down syndrome baby, ‘I would choose him again and again’
“I felt like I was holding my breath for the remaining 27 weeks. Was I going to be able to love him as much as I love Lucas? I thought the Down syndrome label would consume this little being, that he would be more Down syndrome’s son than mine.”
‘Our baby is going to die.’ Harper spiked a 106-degree fever. ‘She has a 1% chance of making it to her first birthday.’: Mom births miracle baby with Trisomy 18
“The doctor said, ‘These kind of babies do not make it full term and if the baby is born alive, they only live a few days…a week at most.’ Weeks later we were told, ‘We can’t find any markers.’ They couldn’t see any holes in her heart and all of her other signs had disappeared. She looked perfect. My husband and I were lost and confused.”
‘When he is older, how do I explain this?’ We handed over a tiny 3-month-old for his first open-heart surgery.’: Mom of heart warrior thanks those who helped, ‘He lived, and so much of that is due to all of you’
“He shows his scar to everyone. Sometimes he will say, ‘I saved Mommy from a great white shark, look, guys!’ Other times, he just tells people, ‘I had heart surgery!’ The first question immediately is always, ‘Did it hurt, Finn!?’ He just sweetly replies no and then wants to play. He lived. We all did.”
‘We think you had a heart attack.’ I knew what was coming, the URGENT TRANSPLANT LIST.’: At 28, woman suffers heart failure and sepsis, ‘It’s HER heart that keeps me alive’
“My heart was failing. I couldn’t even get out of bed. I threw up instantly and then fainted. ‘I can’t be sick forever. I can’t live like this.’ The coordinator came in to tell me there may be a heart for me — her heart. I wasn’t scared. I was ready.”
‘Nana is in the hospital.’ She had a tear in her heart and only had three more days to live. It was unreal.’: Woman raised by grandma says ‘it is truly a miracle she is still here with us’
“I got a phone call from my mom. ‘Nana is in the hospital.’ I needed to spend her last few days by her side, just like she spent my whole life by mine. She didn’t know how little time she had left, and we wanted to keep it that way. I boarded a plane right away to go home.”
