Lorelei with family: Steve, Chelle, Cavan, Lorelei and our dachshund, Charlie

Lorelei is a beautiful, lively two-year-old girl who is about to undergo her third open heart, the extra-cardiac Fontan. She loves princesses, Dora the Explorer, and her dogs.

In 2005, we learned that Lorelei had HLHS after her twin brother died in utero. After careful monitoring, Lorelei was delivered at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) in Philadelphia and underwent her Norwood with a conduit shunt. Three months later, she underwent the Glenn. She has had complications with mutations of the heart and her Harlequin Syndrome, but we have the most wonderful doctors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Duke.

Lorelei has a wonderful, supportive older brother, Cavan who loves to care for her and our family is committed to helping others who are facing the daunting but miraculous journey of having a child with a serious congenital heart defect.

Our little angel is a testament to the amount of love and care that goes into every child, heart defect or not, and the power of determination.