Stella

2022 Embracing Brave Denver Recipient

Our sweet Stella was born in October and our lives changed forever. She arrived via emergency c-section after a long labor and was immediately care flighted to Denver due to an enlarged heart with other complications. She stayed in the NICU for a week before we were able to take her home. We later found out she was diagnosed with a genetic disorder we had never heard of called Digeorge syndrome. She had a few of the indicators including several holes in her heart, tiny lungs, and other physical traits. We got confirmation from genetic testing that she was missing part of her 22nd chromosome. 

Since then, we have had multiple hospital stays, some as long as 6 weeks, to try and figure out what was causing her continued health issues. Stella had open heart surgery in March to repair her ASD and VSD. She then had g-tube placement surgery in May to replace the feeding tube that was through her nose to get food and nutrients. Soon, she will be recovering from craniosynostosis surgery scheduled for mid-June to repair her prematurely fused skull. 

She requires continuous feeding, breathing treatments, therapy, specialist appointments, multiple doses of medications throughout the day, etc. With all she has dealt with, she always laughs and smiles through it all and gives the best kisses. She’s getting stronger every day, even sitting up and rolling over all the time.  Stella loves to grab her toes, stick out her tongue, make funny noises and FaceTime with our families! In her short seven months of life, she has been through some unimaginable times. We, as her parents, are so in love with her and couldn’t be more proud of her and how far she’s come.  

We are honored and humbled that we were chosen to be a part of the Embracing Brave family! We hope one day Stella will know how lucky she is and how much people care about her. With your help, we won’t have to worry about the high cost of gas as we travel an hour and a half each way to all of her appointments in Denver and that’s a huge relief for our family. Thank you so much! 

- 2022

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