This story is not about me. It is about my child. 

I was 37 when she arrived. Her birth was complicated for both of us. I had C-section and lost a lot of blood. And she didn’t cry…

Her little heart had holes in it, and something more. I didn’t understand what was happening. I only knew that something was wrong with my baby.

For the next two months, she barely cried and didn’t gain weight. And for next four months, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. At night, I would lie awake listening to her breath, watching her tiny chest flutter up and down- like trapped butterflies searching for a way out.

I was afraid to sleep. Afraid to look away. Afraid of what the next morning might bring. She was only seven months old when Dr. Niconen performed the procedure, and Dr. Grey took over her recovery.

Then came waiting. That waiting felt as long as my entire life. Finaly ,they let me into recovery. The procedure had been successful. I looked at my daughter. She looked at me… And the next thing I remember, I was lying on a stretcher beside her, with a group of people around me…

Twenty-tree years have passed since that day. Twenty -tree years. Time has gone by much faster than I ever wanted it to. I don’t know what the future holds. None of us really do. But I know what we were given that day.  A gift. A second chance. A life that could have been so very different.

Today, when I walk, I carry all those memories with me- the fear, the waiting, the prayers, the doctors, the nurses, and most of all, the tiny heartbeat that kept going. I walk for my daughter. I walk for every parent who has sat beside a hospital bed listening to heartbeat and praying for one more tomorrow.

I walk for every child whose heart needed help before they could even understand what a heart was. And I walk with gratitude. Because 23 years ago, we were given the most precious gift of all: Life.

God bless the hands that cared for her, the hearts that fought for her, and everyone who helped bring this precious gift of life into our world.

And today, I am here to celebrate her. Her life, Her heart, Her journey, And miracle of having had 23 years with her- and counting.

Will you help me reach my goal and save lives?