Ch. 1: The First 6 Weeks

Ariana Garcia was born June 17, 2014, following a normal pregnancy and a magical delivery.  She is the second of our children, and arrived in a record 45 minutes.  From the beginning, we have observed that she does things on her terms.

For the first 6 weeks of Ari’s life, she was the picture of health.  Brother Hugo immediately took to his little sister and we were a happy family of four.  That being said, she did seem to have inherited the same allergies that plague both Sergio, my husband, and me.  Sometimes at night, she would become congested, and we would use a device to remove her boogers.  If that didn’t work, we would resort to Vick’s vapor rub for kids and a steamy shower.

On Saturday, July 26, 2014, Sergio and I had our first Date Night after Ari’s birth.  When we got home around midnight, both kids were tucked in and asleep.  However, early Sunday morning, she began having difficulty breathing.  Unlike prior nights, nothing we did seemed to help her.  She was clearly uncomfortable, and as dawn approached, her energy sapped, she went limp in my husband’s arms.

Ch. 1: The First 6 Weeks (this page)
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