Avira was only 9 months old when our world changed forever. She was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and was already in severe heart failure by the time we learned what was happening. Within moments, our baby was fighting for her life on the ECMO machine, surrounded by wires, machines, and alarms no parent is ever prepared to hear. She had to be put on Berlin Heart VAD to keep her alive while we waited for the miracle of a transplant.

What followed were 11+ months spent inside hospital walls — days that blurred into nights, endless uncertainty, fear, exhaustion, and hope we had to fight to hold onto. Then came another devastating battle. While on ECMO, Avira developed severe blood clots that changed her life forever. In November 2025, she underwent amputation surgery and lost all the fingers on her left hand, two-thirds of the fingers on her right hand, and all the toes on her left foot. No words can describe the pain of watching your child endure so much before even learning how to walk, hold a toy, or fully explore the world around her.

And yet, through every surgery, every setback, every impossible moment, Avira kept fighting. On April 23, 2026, after nearly a year of waiting, she finally received the gift of a new heart — a second chance at life. But transplant was not the end of her journey. She is still healing from the amputations and will face a lifetime of challenges, therapies, and prosthetics for her affected limbs. Still, despite everything her tiny body has endured, Avira continues to show us what true strength looks like. She has already survived more in her first years of life than most people will face in a lifetime, and yet her spirit continues to shine brighter than ever.

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.