Hi there! I’d like to share the story of my tiny heart warrior and miracle baby, Isaac Gabriel. Isaac means “laughter” and Gabriel means “God is my strength.” Both names have significance in his life. Isaac was due in February 2022, but was born on December 26th at 32 weeks gestation when I went into pre-term labor. He was a tiny warrior at 4 lbs, 6oz, and we already knew that he had a fight ahead of him, as he had been diagnosed with TGA (Transposition of the Great Arteries) when I was 21 weeks’ pregnant. I purchased the Heart warrior pacifier and lovey for him. From the time he was born until his surgery (and for some time after), he was in the NICU. For the first couple of weeks he was in an incubator. I didn’t get to hold him, so I would put the lovey on my chest for a while and then leave it with him so that he could have a little bit of his mom in the bed with him at all times. When he was transported from the hospital where he was born to another hospital in ambulance, the lovey was strapped in right beside him. It felt like a piece of my heart was separated from us as he rode alone to the new hospital, but somehow him having that little bear that smelled like me made me feel better. He had open heart surgery before he turned 3 weeks old, and his TGA was successfully repaired. Since he was a preemie, he not only had to recover from surgery, but also had to learn to breathe and eat on his own. Each day we would celebrate as he had another tube removed and got one step closer to coming home. We were released from the hospital on January 31st, 10 days before he was supposed to be born! This little miracle boy is a testimony of God’s faithfulness as he had an army of people praying for his surgery and recovery. I’m attaching some pictures of his journey!
