Grace was born on May 5, 2008 with a severe case of Ebstein’s Anomaly and pulmonary atresia. Ebstein’s is a malformation of the tricuspid valve, and pulmonary atresia meant she was missing her pulmonary valve. She had her first open heart surgery at 10 days old, it consisted of an atrial septectomy, atrial free wall reduction, ligating the pulmonary valve, placing the BT shunt, ligating the PDA and placing a fenestrated patch over her tricuspid valve. This was a lot of trauma for her heart to endure all at once and keep on ticking. She surprised everyone, when she soared through recovery! We brought her home for the first time on our wedding anniversary, June 2nd! I couldn’t imagine a better anniversary gift!

Her second surgery, the Glenn, was at 5 months old and her third, the Fontan, just after her third birthday. She did extremely well with both of those as well. The surgeries have allowed her to function with a single ventricle anatomy, meaning she only has half of a heart.

Grace is now 8 years old and in 3rd grade. She is a fun-loving, sweet, happy little girl. Her smile can light up a room and definitely melts our hearts!