Recipient Stories

By Jessica NowlinMommy to EastonMicro Preemie born at 23 weeks gestation My fiancé Lane and I were very young when I found out I was pregnant with Easton – I was 19 and he was 20. Our expectations were to have a healthy full-term baby. That’s what any parent hopes for. We dreamed of being…

By Kennon & Diana EllisonParents to KaydenCongenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Congenital Heart Defect, Heterotaxy We received Kayden’s diagnosis of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia at our 20 week anatomy scan when they discovered that his diaphragm had a large hole. This hole (hernia) allowed the majority of his abdominal organs to migrate into his chest and severely compromised his…

By Tiffany SmithMommy to Bowen DeanAnencephalyAugust 2021 In August 2021, my husband and I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Bowen Dean. Bowen had the most beautiful dark blue eyes, the longest salon curled eyelashes, an adorable button nose, some of the chubbiest cheeks, and legs for days. Bowen was only on this Earth…

By Carah HicksMommy to Brian EarlCongenital Diaphragmatic HerniaOctober 17-21, 2018 I found out at 12 weeks that I was pregnant. We were shocked but excited. As an early Mother’s Day present I found out at 16 weeks that our sweet little caboose was another boy (youngest of three). After two healthy pregnancies I had anticipated…

By Krista ThompsonMother to Kamry Ann “Super Girl”Trisomy 13 My husband and I knew we were ready to start a family, unfortunately we got the news he was going to be deployed July 2013. So we prayed about it and decided that we would let God decide if we would get pregnant before he left…

Jessica CorbelloMommy to AshlynTrisomy 18Journey session recipients since 2014 I found out my sweet baby girl, Ashlyn, had Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) at my 20-week ultrasound. Doctors in Springfield – where we lived at the time – found I had only one artery on my umbilical cord and that she had a cleft lip. She was also…

Ashley KamlerMommy to WatsonCongenital Heart Defect#heartwarrior Baby Ace, as we called him before finding out his gender and deciding a name, was a beautiful surprise! The moment I found out I was pregnant I did all the healthy things you can imagine. I was very conscious about what I put into my body and was…

Nichole HydeMommy to KaylynCongenital Heart Defect We found out we were pregnant with our second child on October 8, 2017; 11 days before Harper, our oldest daughter, turned one. We had decided to try again, but didn’t expect it to happen that quickly, what we like to call a “planned surprise.” We were so excited…

Kristin LutzMommy to RaineCongenital Heart Defect I never expected to be a heart mom. I never thought I’d have to pass my baby off to a surgeon; it’s the hardest thing to ever do as a mom. I never knew what the CHD world was before Raine was born. I just thought how any other…

by Megan HembreeMommy to Za’Morah After being diagnosed with PCOS in 2009, my dreams of becoming a mom were crushed when I was told my body would fight off 9/10 pregnancies, making it almost impossible to carry to term. Fortunately, in October 2019, I had my first live birth… a little girl, and after 3…