When I was 20 weeks pregnant I had a routine ultrasound. During this ultrasound is when we began the life changing journey/blessing that is Atlas Ruth Valliere. At the time, her little heart was diagnosed with pulmonary atresia, tricuspid atresia, and a hypoplastic right ventricle with coronary sinusoids. In simple terms, the right side of her heart was severely under-developed and deemed not functional. Because of this, she would need a series of atleast 3 open heart surgeries. The first surgery needing to take place at just days to weeks old. Atlas had her first open heart surgery at 5 days old. There were several bumps along the way. But 23 days after her birth we got to take her home. We had her home with us for several months with lots of daily weights, echocardiograms, and doctors visits. At 5 months old she went back to Boston for her second open heart surgery. A few more bumps in the road came along after that but she took them in stride and she has truly thrived ever since. She will need her 3rd open heart surgery sometime between the ages of 3 and 4, depending on how her heart holds up in the meantime. Atlas is the spunkiest, most resilient, and silliest 2 year there is and we are so proud of how far she's come in just 2 years on this earth. She's a beautiful, fighting soul and our family is so grateful to have her. 

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page! I am participating in the Congenital Heart Walk to support the mission of The Children's Heart Foundation: to advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of congenital heart defects by funding the most promising research.

I hope you'll join me by supporting my fundraising efforts as I work to raise funds for life-saving research.