Heart Story
Check out this beautiful story about Heart Warrior Brynleigh from her mother, Holli!
“I was 20 weeks pregnant with Brynleigh when she was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect (CHD), I had never heard of CHDs before. She was diagnosed with a CHD known as D-TGA at the anatomy scan. The rest of my pregnancy was considered high risk from that moment on. She was born via emergency C-section at 37 weeks and 3 days due to her being in distress. She was supposed to have been born at MUSC but God had other plans, and she was born in Spartanburg. At 8 hours old she was transferred via airlift to MUSC and I was discharged the next day by my choosing to go down and be with her. At 5 days old, her surgeon Dr. Bradley told us she also had an ASD and single coronary, and that was gonna make her surgery more complicated. She did well during the surgery, but then had some issues with blood pressure and arrhythmias, so she was in the hospital for 5 weeks and 2 days until coming home. She is now 9, we see her cardiologist in the upstate every 6 months and go to MUSC once or twice yearly.
ERHF® has gone above and beyond for our family through our journey. We couldn’t have made it without them. From prayers to checking in, and helping with stuff we have needed since we live 4 hours away from Charleston, they have been there every step of the way and not made us feel alone. We are forever thankful to them!
My encouragement to other families going through this is to take it all in: pray, scream, cry, rest while you can. Embrace the fact you are a parent to a heart warrior, making you a warrior too! This journey will have its ups and downs. Please don’t feel alone, and if you do reach out to our heart family community, trust me we get it!”
