Family Stories
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Meet the Keetons, a family of 9, living among three households, in two states, on one income. Although living together under one roof, with her husband, Adam, and seven children, (ages 7 years old and younger,) is something wife and mother Julie Keeton yearns for every day, at the top of her wish list, is a new heart and a pair of lungs for her 6 year-old son Weston. |
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Overcoming life-threatening obstacles and blazing new pathways were at the top of newborn Sophia Chiappalone’s to-do list, and she began accomplishing these feats the second she arrived. Amazingly, although Sophia’s umbilical cord was fused to the placenta during pregnancy, creating the likelihood that both mom, Kristy and Sophia would die if labor started before reaching the hospital,... |
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“Papa Smurf is coming to live with us,” Michelle and Jonathan Pettinato told their four children, using humor to share the difficult news they had learned at a recent ultrasound. They explained that Andrew, the newest member of the family, then 24 weeks in utero, might exhibit blue discoloration at birth, related to his diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. |
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March 13, 2012, I went in for an ultrasound and our baby girl’s heart rate was in the 70s. They did not know what was going on, but I did. Aliyana Grace had complete heart block: a rare heart condition where the electrical system is disrupted and the atrial and ventricles do not communicate, which causes a dangerously low heart rate. |
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Seven year-old Stacy Peace and single mother, Angela have spent a tumultuous seven years going in and out of hospitals throughout various parts of the country. Although the two won’t spend Christmas with friends or relatives this year, the little family takes comfort in being with one another, and thanks God for the blessings He has sent their way. |
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When Bree Roberts was 34 weeks pregnant, she gave up her job and moved to the Ronald McDonald House. They have been there ever since. Casey, Bree’s husband, writes that he “wouldn’t trade being with my little miracle baby for all the money in the world. I have no regrets. Maybe a few worries.” |
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Twelve hours after giving birth to a precious baby girl, Debbie Manthe and husband Jeremy of Kingman Kansas, received unexpected news. Their daughter Haley was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition that occurs when the left side of the heart does not fully develop. |
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Beautiful, blue-eyed Chloe Novak loves music, which has been a blessing, as the sounds of her favorite artist, Glen Phillips, have soothed her through many terrifying experiences. Chloe was diagnosed in utero with Turners Syndrome, and corresponding heart complications, including Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. |
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A family of four drove 100 miles to admit their six-month old son, Nathan Whatley, into the hospital for his first heart surgery. Upon arriving, their doctor refused to operate and told his parents to “take him home to die.” Nathan was in a coma. His parents, Marcus and Amanda, decided to dedicate his little life to God. |
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17 year-old Christopher Armitage’s yearly family trip to Disneyland in February of 2012, took him far from the happiest place on earth, as he found himself instead, in the hospital. After experiencing nausea, shortness of breath and difficulty walking distances, Chris was eventually diagnosed with an enlarged heart, which was pumping at 13%. |
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Violeta and Orlando Cazal live in Paraguay, South America. At a normal 20-week check-up during their first pregnancy, their unborn daughter was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). The Cazals were told that their tiny daughter would need heart surgery after her birth. |
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In the midst of an already-complicated pregnancy, Jillian Dittrich of Gettysburg, PA, learned of some “scary and uncertain issues” during an ultrasound of her unborn baby girl. After the ultrasound, at 18 weeks gestation, Aurelia Lee Dittrich received multiple diagnoses, including hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare disease marked by underdevelopment of the left side of the heart (Mayo Clinic, 2010). |
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“Forewarned is forearmed,” so says the ancient sage. In part, that is true. Knowing about something before it happens allows us to prepare for it.
Nikki and Andy Davidson of Gig Harbor, WA, already knew Nikki was carrying twins. And a prenatal ultrasound at 20 weeks alerted them and their medical care team that one of the twin girls had a serious heart issue, giving them time to strategize and plan for their little one’s treatment upon arrival. However, nothing could have truly prepared the Davidson’s for daughter Elliana’s heart journey. |
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Happy, chubby-cheeked Nash Anousis was born on June 25, 2010 with Double Outlet Right Ventricle. A great deal of his 11-month life was spent going through medical procedures and surgeries. In March 2011, he went to Mercy Hospital for a routine cardiac follow-up, only to discover that he was in heart failure. Two days later, after a cardiac catherization, he had no blood pressure or pulse and was air-lifted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where he spent 86 days in the PICU. |
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The Retana family of New Market, MD has experienced extreme hardship and heartache in their struggle against dilated familial cardiomyopathy. Carlos, 16, the youngest of single-mother Ana Retana’s six children was diagnosed with the disease at age 4. Three of his siblings were also diagnosed with dilated familial cardiomyopathy; however, two have passed away as a result of this insidious disease. |
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Isla Galliart, of La Grange, IL, is a playful, 11-month-old girl, who on an typical day, can be found happily standing or crawling around her home while playing with toys or listening to stories.
At first glance, the presence of her nasogastric tube may be the only indicator that Isla’s life has been more complicated than that of most other babies.
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Twin girls! Four year old Zach and his parents, Liz and James, were ready to welcome two baby girls into their family. When Missy and Tori were born, the doctor’s realized that Missy had an irregular heartbeat. Now, 9 years later, Missy has just started 4th grade with her twin sister, but it has been a difficult and unexpected journey for her whole family. |
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Erica Carela and her husband Frank Drayton of Watchung, NJ, have learned to appreciate the simple things in life, like breathing air or watching their children play. However, they never expected to learn the lessons through the life-threatening illness of their youngest son, Jerric. |
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Heather and Wade Morgan from Katy, TX, were expecting a bit of a challenge with the arrival of their second child. Doctors had informed them of a hole in the infant’s heart while he was still in utero. It posed a problem that could be dealt with, so the couple anticipated their baby’s arrival with both joy and apprehension. |
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Alex and Jenny Hamm from Butte, Montana, and their son Gavin, were thrilled with the arrival of Luella Ann Marie (Lulu) back in May 2010, but only moments after her birth it became apparent that Lulu's young, fragile life was in danger. |
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I got my first taste of mother’s intuition on November 25, 2009; it was the day of my 20 week ultrasound. The ultrasound is one of those exciting milestones of pregnancy along with hearing your child’s heart beat for the first time and feeling your baby move. |
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Little Michael Evan Moreno is trying to get used to being at home.
Diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome at two days of age, Michael Moreno has spent many of his first 700 days here on Planet Earth hospitalized and recovering from two open heart surgeries, multiple catheterizations and other procedures at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. |
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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. |
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One hot July afternoon in 2009, Kaylyn was visiting her father in Seattle. While at the pool, she collapsed, showing symptoms of a heat stroke. Kaylyn, always an energetic and healthy girl, was airlifted to Children’s Hospital of Seattle and resuscitated twice because of cardiac arrest. |
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Mark was born in September 2002 in Ohio. Soon after, doctors determined there was a severe problem with his heart. With a lesion on one of his heart valves, Mark had a balloon procedure at 5 days old as a temporary fix. Open heart surgery followed again at 5 months old and 4 years old. |
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Sydney, of Jackson, Mississippi, was born with a condition called Williams Syndrome. The neurodevelopmental disorder usually brings heart troubles with it. In Sydney’s case, it meant part of her aorta was narrowed, making it hard for her heart to pump blood through the artery and to the rest of her body.
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Four open-heart surgeries followed after Wyatt's birth, all done clear across the country in Boston, hundreds and hundreds of miles away from his small hometown in Idaho. Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, first detected at his 20-week ultrasound, meant his life was filled with doctors and hospitals. |
