At 21 weeks pregnant we were told our baby had a heart defect, pulmonary atresia with an intact vertical septum, that made it difficult for her heart to pump oxygenated blood to her lung. She would need 2-3 surgeries, with the first one shortly after she was born. Our beautiful baby girl Amelia Juliana Garcia came into this world on June 7th, 2022. She went straight to the NICU to be put on life saving medication that allows her heart to pump oxygenated blood to her lungs while they ran more tests on her. On June 14th when she was just one week old, we were told the news no parent should ever have to hear. Our baby now needs a full heart transplant, but our home city and state doesn’t do children heart transplants. June 17th our 10-day-old baby was air transported to UCLAs Mattel Children’s Hospital in California and of course my husband and I followed to be alongside our baby girl!
July 6th she was listed for her heart transplant. Now it’s just the waiting time. Waiting to get the call they have a donor heart for our beautiful baby girl.
Amelia has been intubated 4 times, undergone two cath surgery procedures and has had endless testing. She is such a strong resilient little baby, she’s finally on room air, we are keeping her strong, teaching her to eat by mouth, reading and singing to her which she loves!! This journey has been hard beyond words, but we know soon enough our daughter will get a new heart and she’ll get to go back home!
All donations to COTA in honor of Amelia will help with transplant-related expenses, such as the costs of us being in Los Angeles with our baby while she awaits transplant.
The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.