I want to express my heartfelt thanks for taking a moment to visit my fundraising page.

Lily girl was born on April 14, 2021, a healthy baby, came home a healthy baby, and remained healthy for 9 whole days. On day 10, she stopped nursing. After a couple calls to the doctor and an urgent care visit, where we were advised to avoid the ER (thanks COVID), we were desperate. Sean and I thought it best if I took her to Texas Children's ER. I thought we were there to treat dehydration and try to figure out why she wasn't nursing, so I was hypervigilant about keeping her safe from all the sick kids in the waiting room. I never could have imagine what actually happened. Not 15 minutes after we were called in to triage, Lily's heart stopped beating. Her nurse, Charlotte, was perfectly trained and recognized Lily's condition before this happened so we were in good hands. Her team of nurses and doctors were rapid firing questions to try to figure out what was going on in her tiny body. After about 2 hours they determined she had Coarctation of the Aorta, meaning her aorta was pinched almsot shut. The cardiologist recommended immediate transfer downtown and surgery. Lily was transferred downtown by the Kangaroo Crew (mobile ICU) where she underwent surgery on her heart. Prior to surgery, our sweet 11-day old baby, was neurologically unresponsive and starting to show signs of organ failure from lack of blood flow. The surgery went perfectly and a mere 12 hours after we arrived at the ER, her heart was repaired and she was on the road to recovery. Now, here in 2024, she is a perfectly healthy toddler with a few scars. She is thriving!

While she is perfectly healthy, our family will never be the same. We are changed in the best ways. We know God was with her, me, our family, the doctors, and the nurses that night. It's the only explanation. We know we can go through hard things and come out stronger on the other side. We know how precious life is and try every day not to take it for granted. With all that being said, we never imagined we would be a heart family, but here we are, and we want to do anything in our power to help the medical field advance. A baby should never have to go through such a traumatic experience. Parents should never have to go through such a traumatic experience. We hope to raise money that can further the research of congenital heart defects.