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A Mother’s Day Wish

Julie Howard-Snyder has only one wish for Mother’s Day.  “My wish is to keep my son as healthy as I can.  My best Mother’s day wish has already come through because Matthew is home with me now.”

Matthew’s Long Road

Matthew Eilers has had an extremely difficult 15- year journey which culminated in his receipt of a new heart on March 16, 2009 at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York- Presbyterian.  He is finally home, resting comfortably, except for weekly 5 hour treks to NYC to check in with the doctors who look after his new heart. Read more

Most parents-to-be look forward to a 20 week ultrasound as the first chance to get a glimpse of their little baby growing perfectly at the halfway mark of pregnancy.  For John and Danielle Meyer of Lake Villa, Illinois, this mid-second trimester ultrasound heralded the coming of their first child, a daughter, who would be born with an unbalanced right ventricle (the dreaded HLHS -hypoplastic left heart syndrome) and require aggressive medical intervention upon birth.

In the remaining weeks of the pregnancy, the Meyer family did their research and by the time baby Giselle Adoline, was born at Evanston Northwestern Hospital on April 22, 2008 at 6 lbs. 3 oz and 19.25 inches, they knew she would need to undergo a series of three surgeries.  Read more

Nessa Jayne Gorham, a “miracle baby”, was born on May 5, 2005, after a complicated pregnancy and delivery.  There were multiple close calls with her little life en utero,  but in the first days after her birth, everything seemed to be returning to normal and her  new parents, Nathan and Maegan, anxiously waited to take their precious bundle home.  Reality shifted, however, when Nessa’s discharge exam revealed a suspicious  heart murmur. Instead of being sent home, Nessa was sent to have an echocardiogram and an EKG.  She was also scheduled for an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist early the following Monday. Read more

Monique and Abe Lynas, of Viola, Idaho, are no strangers to the pressures and anxiety of having a child with a life-threatening heart condition.  They’ve been through more heartache and strain with their two and-a-half year-old son, Wyatt, than most people endure in a lifetime.

At Monique’s routine 20 week ultrasound, her obstetrician noticed the baby’s heart looked enlarged. Monique was sent to nearby Spokane, Washington, where doctors performed a fetal echocardiogram. Concerned by what they saw, and certain they would not be able to fix the problem themselves, the cardiologists in Spokane referred Monique and Abe to the team at Children’s Hospital Boston.  By now, little Wyatt has undergone 4 major open heart surgeries to repair his congenitally malformed heart. All of his surgeries have been performed by the world-renowned team of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons in Boston. Read more

John and Mimi McDonald were elated when they found out their family of four would soon be expanding to five. After miscarrying twice before, Mimi was really excited when she first heard the baby’s heart beat  at eight weeks gestation.  Little did the McDonalds know that their developing baby would have a serious congenital heart defect.

As an active mom, and a dance instructor, Mimi kept busy during her pregnancy. What joy she felt as they anticipated the arrival of their long awaited third child. At Mimi’s 20 week check up John and Mimi learned they were having a baby girl. They were also told that everything checked out perfectly, a blessing Mimi, having experienced her own heart problems, did not take for granted. With that news, John, Mimi and their two children, Jensen and Ellie, continued to prepare for the arrival of their sweet little girl. Read more