Hope W.
Ohio
Birth Date - 
September 14, 2009
September 14, 2009Main Diagnosis - Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Heart Transplant
THEME: Cute Cats
Hope's Story
Hope was born on September 14, 2009 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. We were aware that she would be born with a congenital heart defect before she was born and we prepared for her birth and surgeries the best way we knew. She was transferred to a children's hospital a few hours after she was born. After several days, it was determined that the hospital would not be able to perform the life-saving operations she would need, so we transferred her to another hospital in our area. At 16 days old, Hope had her first open heart surgery, the Norwood operation.
Hope came home on October 30, 2009 and spent 6 months enjoying family time and being loved. She had her second open heart surgery in March, 2010, the Hemi-Fontan. She recovered beautifully and only spent 6 days in the hospital.
During the next 4 years, Hope did not spend more than a night in the hospital and loved being home and growing up and playing. She went to preschool and made friends and had a great life.
On March 5, 2014 Hope had an appointment to check her heart. This is common and we went every 6 months. They were usually great appointments, but this one we had expected to schedule her final surgery, the Fontan. Sadly, we were not able to schedule her final surgery because her right ventricle (the only one she had) was no longer working very well. She was in heart failure. She was admitted to the hospital that day to see if they could get her better with some medicine. On March 26th, after many tests and meetings, Hope was listed for a heart transplant.
Hope had to stay in the hospital waiting for her new heart because she was on some very strong medicine that can only be administered through IV. We waited and waited. Finally, on July 25th we received the call...a heart had been found. The emotions were overwhelming and we spent the day loving and holding our little girl. Her new heart was beating in her at 8:00am on the 26th of July. Sadly, shortly after she was brought out of the OR with her new heart, her new heart stopped. She went into cardiac arrest and thankfully her surgeon was close by and manually compressed her heart for an hour.
Hope was on life support for a week while her new heart rested and got stronger. She came off life support on August 1st and has been recovering ever since.
Hope is a miracle and has shown so many people the miracles God provides. She was given little chance of living when she was first born and then again when she received her new heart. God has provided miracle upon miracle for Hope and our whole family.
CLICK HERE SEE WHAT HAS BEEN STITCHED
"Thank You"
Thank you so much! Words can not describe the beauty of this quilt! It is an amazing and precious gift. I know Hope will enjoy it throughout her lifetime! Thank you for the thoughtful gift and the time you put into it too.
Thank You, Hope
