On December 17, 2008, our world turned upside down. I was 17 weeks pregnant, and my husband and I had gone to our obstetrician’s office for an ultrasound to determine the sex of our baby. As our doctor examined the ultrasound, my husband and I began to sense that something was wrong. He happily told us that we were expecting a girl, but then he carefully delivered the news that she would be born with a very serious heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition in which most of the left side of the heart does not develop.

As a practicing pediatrician, I was well aware of the gravity of this diagnosis. Children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome often require three surgeries in the first few years of life in order to survive. The surgeries are considered palliative, meaning they can only make the heart better; they are not curable. 

During this difficult time, God began working on my heart, reminding me of His promise in Psalm 139:13-14, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” There was no doubt in my mind our daughter would have a special purpose in life and that she would be made perfect in His sight.

Brooklyn was born May 27, 2009. Within minutes of her birth—way too soon for me—she was taken to the intensive care nursery to be placed on IV medication to keep her alive. She looked healthy when she delivered; but thankfully, because we knew in advance of her heart defect, the doctors and staff were well prepared to care for her.

Just three days later, Brooklyn had her first open-heart surgery at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. It was an extensive and complicated eight-hour surgery in which her tiny chest was literally sawed open in an operating room cold enough to freeze meat. Her heart was stopped, and she was placed on a bypass machine to pump her blood while the doctors operated on her walnut-sized heart.  We had several rough weeks following the surgery, but after six weeks, we were able to take our precious, fragile baby girl home. We finally had our family united under one roof.

The days that followed are no more than a mere blur to me: feeding pump, tubes in her nose and tummy, daily weights and oxygen level readings, multiple heart medications, a heart cath. Brooklyn underwent her second open-heart surgery in January 2010 when she was seven months old. It was a slightly shorter surgery, and her recovery time was shorter as well. We were all home after only ten days in the cardiac unit.

Today, Brooklyn is a spunky little two-year old full of life and beauty who completely adores her 6-year-old brother, Alex.  She is our little angel on earth who continues to remind me to enjoy life, live each day as though it could be my last, and to not just accept trials in life, but rather, to embrace them. She has taught me to not be discouraged by my circumstances; but instead, to keep my eyes focused on my Savior.

Brooklyn is tentatively scheduled for her third open-heart surgery in 2012. My husband and I have joined with the American Heart Association to help raise awareness of congenital heart defects, the number one cause of birth defects in children. Only through the research done, time invested, money raised – and more importantly, God’s grace – have we been given the gift of a lifetime: our daughter.