Everything I accomplish and every penny earned is dedicated to Hannah Marie. She is the purest form of inspiration and love. My angel was born May, 5 2014 with a very rare illness called Heterotaxy Syndrome, meaning Hannah was born with a series of complicated heart defects, lung issues and bowel problems. She had her first open heart surgery at two weeks old, it was 12 hours long. After her surgery her little chest was so swollen the surgeons couldn't stitch it close. Instead they placed a protective bandage over her chest area. I could literally see her little heart pulsating through the bandage. That moment changed me forever. How could someone so small and fragile survive all of this? She was so strong, such a fighter, so much stronger than I was at that time. Thankfully Hannah pulled through that surgery and recovered with flying colors and despite it all she still smiled, nothing dampened her spirit. The months following her surgery was hard, we spent months in the hospital. It was literally home. Hannah had her second open heart surgery when she turned two. This surgery revealed her heart was getting weaker and her lungs were deteriorating much faster than expected. Over the next two years Hannah had a series of procedures to place stents in her pulmonary veins in order to keep them, but all those procedures didn't solve the issue they only gave us more time with our sweet baby girl. In order to live longer Hannah needed a heart and lung transplant. Therefore her doctors presented her case to their medical bored to get approved an placed on transplant list. Considering the fact that Hannah had so many pulmonary vein issues they denied her. She had so much scar tissue in and around her pulmonary veins the chance of her bleeding to death during surgery was too high. Her doctors told us to enjoy every minute we could with Hannah, make beautiful memories and surround her with love because there was nothing else they could do. I'm happy to say that we did exactly that! My sweet, sweet baby girl passed away March 30, 2019 at 4 years old. She lived a full life and taught me A LOT, she got the chance to go to school and have friends and she knows she is still deeply loved.
