Hi. We have been blessed with 3 wonderful children. Justin and Kristina are our heart-healthy teen-agers. Natalie is our precious heart child. After a devastating miscarriage, Natalie was an answer to prayers. However, when I was 7 months pregnant, she wasn't moving much. This bothered me, even though my OB-GYN thought that there was nothing to be concerned about. One evening, I couldn't ignore the fact that she still wasn't moving, so we decided to go to the hospital to be monitored. It was determined that she was under stress and must be delivered by emergency C-section.

Tiny Natalie weighed 3lbs. 2oz. and was very blue. Several hours later, we were notified of her multiple congenital heart defects. It was a nightmare. The next day, she was sent out of state to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. She spent 2 months there trying to survive, gain weight, learn how to take a bottle, and undergo her first surgery; the B-T shunt.

Natalie came home weighing only 4 1/2 lbs. Our goal was to help her grow and gain weight for her repair surgery. After feeding tubes and living on oxygen, she was ready for her repair at 10 months old, weighing 14 lbs. The repair was successful, but she suffered several complications. She was left in complete heart block and required a pacemaker. She also suffered from chylothorax. After another 2-month hospitalization, she was discharged on her 1st birthday, only to be readmitted a week later for endocarditis. She spent another scary month in the hospital. Since that time, she has thrived and is doing well.

She is still small, but is such a huge blessing to our family. Natalie is so beautiful and full of life. Her smile brightens each day. She recently had her pacemaker replaced and will face several other open-heart surgeries to replace the pulmonary valve in the future. We consider each and every day with Justin, Kristina and Natalie to be a gift from God.