My Husband and I found out that Anelise was going to
have a major heart defect before she was even born. To sum it up
we were terrified. The first thing that came over me was that she
would not survive. How could a little baby survive with a broken
heart? I didn't even know if I was going to survive this in one
piece.

The past six years have been a blessing and a blur and I
am so thankful that this little ray of hope was placed in my
life. Anelise had her first open heart at six days old and her
second at six months. We were so consumed with her heart that we
had not even begun to talk about all of the other things that are
22q. Aside from a nasofeeding tube, several medications, and
the non stop spit up out the nose she was just a normal baby,
right? We have learned that early diagnosis and early
intervention is the key to 22q. We have had the best OT, PT,
and SLP. We have been blessed with knowledgeable doctors who
really care about this child's outcome. Anelise had a flap done
in 2011 and it had been like night and day since. She talks like
a chatter box...non stop! I love this little girl with every
ounce of my soul and to me she is perfect. We have no clue what
the future holds for us but Anelise has taught me that it really
doesn't matter cause we are gonna be just fine.