A couple of weeks ago, I had the gift of a “grandma overnight” with Ollie. While it wasn’t the first overnight I imagined (this was spending the days with him in the hospital and staying at the Ronald McDonald House), I felt great joy and privilege to have some one-on-one time with Ollie. His mom and dad, Madison and Taylor, were able to slip away for the first time in a long while to celebrate their third wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it’s already been three years since that beautiful August afternoon in Wisconsin, when family and friends gathered on a farm to witness their vows of love and commitment. In sickness and in health. At the time, none of us could have imagined how those words would take on such deep meaning just a few short years later.

Nearly three years after that day, Madison and Taylor welcomed their first child, the amazing Oliver Fox. Along with his arrival came challenges no parent ever expects to face. When you’re waiting for a baby, you dream of their little face, wonder whose smile they’ll have, and imagine the life they’ll live. You never picture your child fighting to survive with a congenital heart defect, waiting for the gift of a new heart. But that is Ollie’s journey—and ours as a family.

From the very beginning, our hearts have ached for Madison and Taylor. Suddenly, we weren’t just “any family”—we were that family, the one you read about, the statistic. But through it all, we’ve watched Madison and Taylor rise to the challenge in ways that leave me in awe. They’ve thrown themselves into learning every detail of Ollie’s condition—HLHS, transplant care, medications, tests, machines—and become experts in their own right. They are strong, though not always. No one can be strong every day when you’re waiting for a miracle.

Hospital life is relentless. Days blur together, filled with hope, worry, small victories, and setbacks. And yet, one Ollie smile is enough to light up the darkest day.

Ollie didn’t enter this world in the ordinary way, and he is certainly no ordinary child. We are blessed beyond words to spend time with him every couple of weeks. Each visit, I’m struck by his resilience, his joy, and the way he embraces life, even though all he’s ever known is a hospital room filled with wires and machines. Perhaps because he’s never known anything different, he meets each day with a spirit and resilience that inspires us all.

I pray constantly for the day Ollie receives his gift of life—a new heart. I long for the day he can finally see the world beyond hospital walls: to run, to play, to explore, to be held without machines in the way, to discover everything this world has to offer. And just as importantly, for the world to experience the gift he has to offer in return.

Today (9/14), as Ollie turns five months old, we celebrate his strength, his joy, and the incredible love that surrounds him. Happy 5 month birthday Ollie!

Love, 

Grandma No No

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