Ariana Kersch Garcia was born on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, our first daughter, and second child. Unbeknownst to us, Ari had an undiagnosed critical congenital heart defect, Transposition of the Great Arteries.
For the first six weeks of her life, our baby girl was slowly suffocating, and we had no idea.
What follows is a very long account of our journey, culminating in OpHeart.
We have included a lot of details and documentation for two reasons. First, we hope fellow heart families can benefit from our story and happy ending.
Second, this experience changed our family’s life trajectory forever, and we never want to forget where it all began.
Ch. 1: The First 6 Weeks
Ch. 2: To the ER
Ch. 3: The Transfer
Ch. 4: The Diagnosis
Ch. 5: The Rashkind Procedure
Ch. 6: 8 Weeks in PICU
Ch. 7: Ari’s Arterial Switch
Ch. 8: The End . . . and the Beginning