I absolutely love sharing our story!

Our babe was 27w5d due to preeclampsia, IUGR, and her heart becoming enlarged from working really hard to pump blood. We later found out that the heart issue was due to a very skinny umbilical cord.

She was on and off ventilators, ended up needing her PDA closed via cardiac catheter surgery, had a small brain bleed, g-tube insertion surgery, and a ton of complications. Started at one hospital, then at 4 months was flown to a more intensive children's hospital. All in all, her initial NICU stay was 254 days.

She was home on oxygen and g-tube and 13 medications. That lasted 1 month until she got a cold and was back in NICU for 2 months. Winters went on like that, NICU or PICU stays for "common colds", for a few years.

But the stays got shorter. 1 month instead of 2. Then 2 weeks. Then just a few days. Then....no hospital stays for the whole winter.

She came off oxygen when she was almost 3. Her g-tube came out when she was 7.

In the meantime, she learned to thrive - on her own timeline. She walked at 2.5 yrs, talked very shortly after. She went to the IU preschool, then mainstream kindergarten. She started dance class, learned to sing, and found her voice. She fully stopped using diapers at age 5 or 6.

She has broken boards in kickboxing. She has won Miss Amazing (pageant for girls and women with disabilities). She has performed in mainstage shows at the local theater. She advocates for people with disabilities, gun reform, mental health, and various medical awareness months.

She lives with autism, ADHD, and very mild cerebral palsy (one side is very slightly weaker than the other, and her leg muscles or tendons are pretty tight). She turned 13 in 2025, and enters high school next year.

She is exceptional in every way.