Ruby was born with a congenital heart defect called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW). This condition involves an extra electrical pathway in the heart, which can cause her heart rate to suddenly increase to more than twice that of a typical infant.

Ruby's condition was not detected until she was one and a half weeks old. She will remain on medication until she either outgrows WPW by age one or undergoes an ablation procedure during early childhood to eliminate the extra pathway.

Our hope is that Ruby's story will raise awareness of WPW and highlight the importance of screening for heart arrhythmias in newborns using a simple EKG as it's currently not a part of standard testing following birth.

Ruby is growing beautifully each day. She is a happy, easygoing baby whose favorite person is her brother, River. Ruby is such a bright light in our family and we feel so lucky to call her ours.