Heart Story
Listen to Eliana’s mother tell this encouraging story of their CHD journey:
“Our sweet Eliana was born at 29 weeks weighing 1 lb 14 oz. In the first few days of life, they discovered Eliana had patent ductus arteriosus. At five weeks old and just three pounds Eliana was transferred to MUSC for a PDA closure in the cath lab. Upon arrival, Eliana received a final echo when it was discovered by cardiology she had a double aortic arch/vascular ring. Over the next few weeks the cardiologists and surgeons worked closely to figure out the best route for Eliana.
On September 22, 2021, Eliana went for her DAA surgery with Dr. Kavarana. All went well and the next day she would go into the cath lab to close her PDA by Dr. Bandisode. Initially, everything went well with her surgery. They were able to place the device successfully. But later that night it was discovered Eliana’s device dislodged and she was brought for emergency surgery to remove the device. Her PDA now remained open.
Three days later, they planned on Dr Kavarana performing another surgery to close the PDA. As we prepared for our sweet girl to go through another surgery we were filled with fear. The night before they did a final echo to verify her very large PDA. We received the best news – overnight Eliana’s PDA closed! Every cardiologist we had spoken to was stunned. Constantly saying “We have never seen this before” and calling it a “miracle”.
The meaning of Eliana’s name is “God has answered”. In every moment of Eliana’s life, God has been so faithful to her and us. He has been healing her heart and doing the unimaginable. After spending 113 days between the NICU and cardiac ICU, we finally got to bring our sweet girl home. She continues to thrive! She is our sweet miracle baby. God surely answered every single one of our prayers and gave us a strong and brave heart warrior.”
