Mila Rose, Heart Warrior

On April 6, 2023 our anatomy scan revealed our baby girl had a congenital heart defect, transposition of the great arteries, and she would need open heart surgery within her first week of life in order to survive. That day changed our lives. Mila Rose Smith was born on August 3 and her surgery took place when she was just 6 days old. The arterial switch was successful and after 4 weeks in ICU our family was finally together.

With Mila’s surgery behind us, it may seem as though this chapter of our life is over but unfortunately that far from the case. Babies born with congenital heart defects are highly at risk for a range of developmental disorders. Mila is closely followed by a cardiologist and has had many echocardiograms since coming home to ensure her heart is still functioning properly. She has faced feeding issues from intubation and has needed genetic counseling, neuropsychiatric evaluations, head scans, and has recently been referred to neurology. One specialist appointment alone can cost over $1,000 after insurance. As you can imagine, it has been an incredibly emotional experience and the costs of this continual care added to the astronomical hospital bills and monitoring leading up to her birth have rapidly accumulated and our family is now also faced with a major financial burden.

Raising a child with medical challenges such as Mila’s poses a major strain on families and we are grateful for everyone’s support and prayers. It is our dream to be able to overcome this challenge so we can not only fully enjoy our little miracle, but also focus on how to overcome the challenges she will face while setting her up for the brightest future possible.