Blog
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Our Beautiful Boy – JT’s Story
My husband, Michael, and I had been trying to have a baby for over three years (through gestational surrogacy), and after several failed attempts and a miscarriage, we finally made it to the second trimester! When Michael, Michelle (our surrogate), and I attended the 20-week anatomy scan, we were shocked to find out that our…
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Donate Life Month – Pam’s Transplant Story
Growing up, like many born in the early days of congenital heart surgery, Pam Ensley thought she was fixed. But after a mostly normal life, including marriage and children, she learned she needed the gift of the perfect match.
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Camila
Camila nació el 5 de octubre del 2018. Seis días antes de que naciera, fue diagnosticada con estenosis de la válvula pulmonar y comunicación interauricular. La noticia nos tomó a todos por sorpresa. En ese momento estábamos viviendo en California en el Área de la Bahía y cuando Camila nació fue inmediatamente transferida al hospital de niños Benioff en…
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The Foligno Family
“We don’t look at the world with rose-colored glasses, but we are optimists through and through. We believe in turning obstacles into opportunity, that forward is a mindset, and that there are tools to help us at any place you find yourself on life’s journey.”
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Luke Toth
Like many newly married couples, we were over the moon to learn we were expecting our first baby! We vividly remember us deciding the entire ride there if we should find out whether we were having a boy or girl. Soon after arriving, we quickly learned that instead of finding out our baby was a…
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Sweet Girl Paislee
Paislee Kate was prenatally diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. At 33 weeks, doctors considered her in “imminent danger” so, in February 2018, she was delivered by emergency C-section. After she was born, more complications arose. The morning after she was born, she was moved to another hospital 45 minutes away. Scott and his wife,…
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Sydney Kim
“Sydney has already overcome so many challenges in her young life. I used to worry so much about her future because of how sick she was as a little child. But seeing her now and how much she has grown, I feel that there is no limit to what Sydney can do or achieve. I will always be thankful to Conquering CHD for tirelessly advocating for those with CHD like Sydney.”
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Bella
En julio de 2017, nació nuestra heroína del corazón, Bella. No sabíamos sobre la cardiopatía congénita de Bella (CHD): defecto septal ventricular, defecto del tabique auricular, estenosis pulmonar y miocardiopatía hipertrófica, hasta que nació a las 39 semanas y 6 días. A las pocas horas de nacer, Bella tuvo dificultades para respirar y sus niveles…
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Ryan Kirst
February 3, 1999, our heart warrior was born. We were already blessed with a six-year-old daughter and we were excited to add a son to our family. It wasn’t until Ryan was born that we learned he had something seriously wrong with his heart. He was born blue and right away they knew something was…
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Bella
In July of 2017, our heart hero, Bella, was born. We didn’t learn about Bella’s congenital heart defect (CHD)–Ventricular Septal Defect, Unroofed Coronary Sinus Atrial Septal Defect, Pulmonary Stenosis, and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy–until she was born at 39 weeks and 6 days. Within a few hours of her birth, Bella had difficulty breathing and her oxygen…