Stories like this one are the reason we donate to Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta.
Meet Hannah
Lisa was pregnant with her second child, Hannah, when tests indicated the baby had a high probability of a significant birth defect. Initially, doctors were concerned about Down syndrome or Trisomy 18, a chromosomal defect with a high mortality rate before or immediately after birth. The many trips Lisa and her husband, Sam, made to the doctor in those final months before Hannah was born revealed a clearer picture. Hannah had a severe heart defect; Lisa and Sam were terrified for their unborn child.
Hannah was born at a remarkably healthy 7 pounds. Immediately, doctors set to work investigating the baby’s heart—the first opportunity they had to perform testing that wasn’t in utero. Although Hannah did not have a chromosomal disorder, she did have pulmonary atresia with a ventricular septal defect—part of her heart was dangerously underdeveloped and also had a hole in it.
One week later, with doctors and staff amazed at her size and apparent strength, already referring to her as the Miracle Baby, Hannah was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to await surgery.
“At first, we had to wait for a bed for Hannah,” recalled Lisa. “But the professional staff at Children’s were amazing. They calmed our fears and addressed all of our concerns.”
The next day, Hannah underwent the complex surgery to repair her heart and soon returned from the wonderfully successful procedure to her much-relieved parents. Stronger than ever, Hannah did not even require a feeding tube, and two weeks later, she was removed from most of her medication. The baby, who even before birth was thought to be perhaps too sick to survive, was now well on her way to a relatively normal life. These days, Hannah—the Miracle Baby—visits Children’s only every three months for a checkup, which gives her doctors and nurses another chance to marvel at one of their most extraordinary patients.
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