Meet Elijah

Elijah was born August 25, 2009. He was diagnosed prenatally at 13 weeks with Down syndrome. Six months into the pregnancy, we learned he had an AV Canal Heart defect that would require open heart surgery when he is between 3 and 6 months old. We are so lucky that he was born so healthy and is continuing to do well. Although he is having trouble gaining weight, he is a happy little baby. We just participated in our first Buddy Walk and it was one of the best days ever! We take things day-by-day and appointment-to-appointment, since we are still not sure when the surgery to repair his heart will happen. Elijah is our little superstar and we love him more than anything. We waited so long for him and we are blessed with his little facial expressions and milestones every day. Thank you so much for his beautiful blanket!

Meet Xavier

Xavier Adan Gallegos was born May 4, 2009, he was born almost 6 weeks premature. He was also born with HLHS, a small mitral valve, tubular hypoplastic aortic arch, and left superior vena cava to coronary sinus. He underwent his first open heart surgery at 36 hours old, the Norwood. On August 5 he had a stent implantation, and on September 30th he had a double glenn.

Meet Auriana

Auriana Faith was born on September 17, 2008. She was induced 5 weeks early because she had a condition in utero called umbilical cord absent flow. Basically the umbilical cord had not formed properly and she was getting little to no nutrients from it. We also had found out at 17 weeks pregnant that she would be born with AV Canal Defect (heart defect in every wall within her heart), and we were warned that they thought she might have Trisomy 13 or 18. She was delivered by emergency c-section when her heart rate plummeted into the 40's. We found out 8 hours later that Auriana was born with Down Syndrome. When they told me Down Syndrome, I said "Oh, thank you God!" I had prepared myself to have her born with something much worse. I had prayed she would have Down Syndrome instead, and she does! Auriana had open heart surgery at 5 months old and is now heart healthy! She does still require a feeding tube though, for the fact that she refuses to eat. We are working on this though. Auriana started crawling last month and we are so proud of her! She also just got ankle orthotics to help her to stand so that she can practice walking with her therapist. She also doesn't hear very well, so we have been signing with her since she was 3 weeks old, and she knows 15 signs!! She's so smart! She has been such a joy to have in our lives and her big sister Kylee just adores her! Thank you for making her the beautiful blanket!

Meet Ethan

Ethan Mills was born on November 5, 2007; he was a few weeks early and was delivered by caesarian section due to a rapid decrease of amniotic fluid in the womb. We were told shortly after delivery that our son had Down Syndrome. We felt so very blessed to learn that Ethan did not suffer from any sort of heart issues like so many Down Syndrome children and we were able to bring him home from the hospital just a few days after delivery. He was and continues to be a very easy, good natured little guy. Ethan was moving right along on developmental milestones until about the age of 7 months when we began to notice sudden 'head drops'. Our initial thought was that his head may be a little to heavy to properly support with his neck but by 11 months of age we were given the diagnosis of Infantile Spasm's, a form of Epilepsy. Ironically our diagnosis came on the eve of our first Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome. Fearful of the unknown, we began to do a lot of research along with our wonderful team of doctors. Ethan was on various types of seizure medications in an attempt to curb the many seizures he would have on a daily basis. We found that some medications were helpful but sadly only for a short amount of time. When we had run the gamet of pharmaceutical solutions we turned to the Kenegenicdiet for relief. Though this 'solution' was time consuming and difficult at times we followed it religiously for several months before it too proved unsuccessful. In addition to all of this Ethan was on ACTH which caused his personality and facial features to change. Through all of this we have tried to keep a positive attitude and learn that we are not alone in our struggles. As of July of this year, Ethan is back eating 'normal' baby foods and is only on one seizure medication. He is making every effort, along with his therapists', to regain the ground he lost...We have seen, in just a months time, that our little boy can now hold an object, transfer it from hand to hand and has considerable head control. Knowing that we can now begin again to check off his accomplishments; our hopes and dreams for Ethan continue to flourish and his beautiful smiles keeps us focused and encouraged each and every day.

Meet Miracle

My Daughter has Down syndrome along with seizure disorder. It has been a long road for while the doctors was trying tom control her seizures she was in the hospital for 5 months in and out. She loves her blankie. Thank you so very much and may
continue to bless you and your family for what you are doing to touch so many little ones heart.