Warrior Wednesday
Livia, 5mths old
VSD and ASD
At Livia’s first pediatrician appointment just 6 days old why her doctor was listening to her heart she asked me if I had an overall healthy pregnancy. A question I wasn’t prepared to be asked, a rush of confusion went through me. My response was short and simple “yes”! She replied “I’m hearing an extremely loud and impressive murmur. One of the loudest I’ve heard in some time”! She immediately called over to the pediatric cardiologist at our local hospital asking them to fit us in for an echocardiogram that same day. After tests with her pediatric cardiologist, we learned that Livia has two holes in her heart — one between the top chambers (ASD) and one between the bottom chambers (VSD). From that point on our world shifted. We had to not only try to understand what was happening for ourselves but also try to make our three year old daughter understand as well. After a long couple of months her cardiologist informed us he wanted us to schedule her open heart surgery sooner rather than later because she was struggling to gain weight. Livia’s surgery was scheduled for October 13th 2025! I’m grateful to share that today October 17th we are home and our girl is recovering well. She is reunited with her big sister and getting extra cuddles from mom and dad.
Charging the Storm
It’s been 5 months since Livia’s surgery and she is thriving to say the least! Watching her bounce back with so much resilience has been incredibly reassuring for us. She’s developing such a little personality and loves watching her big sister play dress up. She loves getting messy in her high chair and thinks it’s really funny when she drops her food on the floor for mommy to clean up. We hope for more good news at her next cardiologist appointment in April!
Livia has been such a trooper. Through every test, blood draw, ultrasound, x-ray, doctor’s appointment, we never heard a cry or saw a tear shed from her little eyes. I think mom and dad cried more than she did. She is our inspiration and our warrior!
Want to be a part of Warrior Wednesday?
Fill out and submit the form below! Each warrior who is featured receives a buffalo bead to add to their beads of courage along with a gift card. All heart warriors and heart angels are welcome!
Once your form is submitted, please email 2-3 pictures to thelevilegacy@gmail.com with the name of your child as the subject line.