I had brain surgery when I was 13 weeks pregnant with our second daughter. My pregnancy was high-risk after that and I had many, many ultrasounds and checkups. Then we moved to a new duty station across the country when I was 34 weeks pregnant. The next day I had a check-up and the doctor told me something was wrong with her heart and we needed to go to the children’s hospital for a fetal echo. The day of the fetal echo was supposed to take 2-3 hours for the echo and results. We ended up staying there for 6 hours. Remy Hope was diagnosed with HLHS (hypoplastic left heart syndrome). Fast forward to 39 weeks pregnant and I went into labor with our warrior. She was taken away within seconds and brought to the NICU to be intubated and sedated. Remy was transferred down the street to the children’s hospital. I was able to leave a few hours after giving birth so I could go be with her. Christmas Eve at 3 days old, Remy got another echo. She was then diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta and hypoplastic aortic arch. Her open heart surgery was scheduled for the day after Christmas. We were able to have Remy meet her big sister for the first time on Christmas Day. Remy’s surgery went off without any problems and she moved to the step-down unit within 2 days. She was able to come home at 12 days old and has been doing amazing ever since. She is thriving as a newly turned 2-year-old and keeps up with her nearly 5-year-old big sister. Remy goes yearly for checkups now and we are in a wait-and-see stage for her next surgery.