Alicia's Story

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page for the Congenital Heart Walk. Raising funds for CHD research is critically important to all Heart Warriors and Heart Angels, and personally very meaningful to me.
Please help us to fund CHD research by making a donation to my personal fundraising page. Our goal is to raise $1000. so together we can make a life-saving difference!
Congenital Heart Defects are the most commonly occurring birth defect affecting approximately 1 in 110 babies. Alicia was that one (1).
Alicia was born premature. Her weekly baby wellness check ups were not going well as she was not eating or gaining weight. At 3 weeks she was rushed to Emanuel Children's Hospital for additional tests and examinations.
We were devastated to learn she had a congenital heart defect and needing an emergency procedure to save her life. She was diagnosed with a defect called, Transposition of the Greater Arteries with a Ventricular Septal Defect.
While dealing with the waiting list for the surgery, travel logistics, and insurance approval, we also found out Alicia would need to gain weight before she would even be considered for surgery.
With a lot of prayers and support from loved ones, the pieces finally fell in place and we finally were cleared to travel to Boston. Alicia was three months old and weighed just 9lbs. The surgery was a very complicated, lengthy procedure and Alicia was a true heart warrior. For us, the surgery, everything that led up to it, and the recovery was a very stressful time. The surgery was a success, but there were a few bumps along the way. We stayed for a full 3 weeks to allowing her time to recover and gain strength for the trip home.
Without funding for research, Alicia’s surgical procedure would not have been possible and the out come for our precious little girl would have been totally different.
Alicia is a healthy adult today and continues to receive followup heart wellness checks and consultations which help to support the research being done on this and many other congenital heart procedures.


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